Nowhere To Run
by AmiThest
Summary: The sequel to The Dance. Most of the chapters are PG, but I left it PG-13 in case. Warning, this thing's pretty old. Jessie's decided to quit Team Rocket, but that's not as easy as it sounds. (BTW, I messed up on the chaptering, so I can't add this to
1. Nowhere to Run

Nowhere to run 

**Nowhere to Run**

Warning: This is slightly more violent then the last story. It's not that bad, though. I don't claim to own any of these characters in any way, shape, or form, except Zee, who doesn't really do much. As always, I think it's hypocritical for a fan-fic writer to claim ownership to anything in their story, so if you like it, it's yours. Please send comments to [Ami Thest.][1] (Really, I'm lonely!) 

Jessie beamed at the image in the mirror as she held up a shirt to her chest. She rarely got days off, and she thoroughly enjoyed every moment she had to herself. This however, wasn't technically a day off. She had really quit. 

It felt good. Real good. She had never realized what an oppressive job she had until she was away from it. Today, however, she felt like she really owned her life. She could do anything she wanted, without having to worry about whether or not her teammates approved. 

"That's not really fair though." She thought to herself. James never really held her back, not unless he was seriously worried about her safety. Meowth, on the other hand, seemed to make a game out of it. And their boss... She shivered softly. He had always been a little eccentric, but lately he'd been acting creepy, like he had gone power-mad. She had picked a good time to jump ship. 

She held up a knee-length skirt and twirled in front of the mirror. The skirt gracefully flowed after her, mimicking her actions. Pretty, but not her style. She put it back and selected another. Nope, not her. Finally, she found one she liked: a white mini-skirt. She shook her head and smiled at herself. She had been working there way too long. 

She finally decided on an adorable baby-tee with a vulipix on it and a pair of barrettes. As she pulled out her wallet, her cheery spirit dropped for a second. She was broke, as usual. She could hardly pay for the two items. 

"Of course, it's not like quitting is really going to change that. Paycheck, my butt, it's more like an allowance." And even then, it didn't allow for much of anything. 

She stopped in the bathroom and slipped the new shirt on over the sleeveless black halter top she always wore under her Rocket shirt. Of course, her Rocket shirt was gone, she had given it to her sister, Zee, as proof that she had really quit. However, she had told James that it was in the wash. Then again, she had also told him she was going out to look for Pikachu. Zee would kill her. Jessie had promised Zee that she would try to stop lying to James about everything. 

"Okay, fine. I'll tell him tonight." She tried to ease her conscience. Suddenly, she got very serious. She had to leave that night as well. She couldn't just hang out with the Team now that she had quit... It was way too dangerous. The idea that Giovanni would have her killed hadn't yet crossed her mind, but she knew he'd be ticked. 

Deep inside, she felt a little guilty for abandoning James. Especially now, when he had just saved her from never being able to show her face in public. He'd get over it. He was a big boy. 

She looked in the mirror one last time, checking her appearance. "Perfect." She told the beautiful young woman staring back at her. Jessie turned to go, not noticing the black-suited girl that had been hiding in another stall. 

The woman looked around, then opened her cell phone. 'This is Orange, division four." She said quietly. "I've found that girl you were after. I must say, It was too easy. Are you sure this is worth it?" The girl had seemed like any other self-absorbed teenage girl, certainly nothing special. 

"Of course it is. Are you questioning my judgment?" came the threatening reply. "Listen, you'll probably also have to deal with her partner, James Sassaké. He's stupid, but annoyingly loyal. You may find a problem with him." 

"James Sassaké? Of the Sassaké family?!" She had no idea that someone so important would be working at such a low-paying job. That was one of the richest families in the country. "What's he doing with us?" 

"The fool got himself cut out of his inheritance. He's certain that he can get his own fortune through stealing. But that's not your concern. The top priority is the girl. The boy..." The boss's voice seemed to tingle with sadistic pleasure. "...Is expendable" 

The woman seemed stunned as she ended the phone call. "Expendable?" He wanted her to kill someone? And what was so special about this girl Jessie that made her more important than a millionaire's son? She shook her head. This was just too confusing... She headed for the door. As she left, she looked around for the girl. She was gone, but there was a small slip of paper on the ground. Orange leaned over to read it 

_Sucker_. 

Orange frowned. Perhaps this girl was worth taking after all. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessie got back to camp and looked around. No one was there, everything was the same as when she had left. She must be the first one back. She started a fire and began washing some rice. She had barelly started, though, when she heard a snap behind her, and felt eyes burning into her back. 

"Hey, Jess." 

"Hello, James. What's up?" She kept her back to him. 

"You wouldn't happen to have anything to tell me, now would you?" He asked dubiously. 

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about." She said cheerfully. "Is something wrong?" She finished with the rice and turned around. His glare surprised her, he never got mad. 

"The boss called." He said simply. 

"Really? Now what in the world could he want?" She asked with mock innocence. She did, however, turn away from him, avoiding any eye contact. 

"He wants to know why you quit." She could have sworn she heard his voice waiver, but ignored it. "I would, too." He added more quietly. 

"Well, I don't know, James. Maybe because he's overbearing, or rude, or because he scares me, or that I'd make more money flipping burgers part time, with no risk to my life, or just because I finally realized that I deserve better. Maybe I'm just moody. You know how we girls are." She put the rice on the fire. "I'm my own girl, and he can't tell me what to do. Tell him whatever you want. Pick an objection, any objection..." 

"I already answered him." 

"So what did you say?" 

"I told him that there had been some sort of terrible mix-up, and we as a team were very sorry if there had been any confusion." 

"Now, isn't that sweet. A true gentleman always takes the blame for a lady." She stood up and walked right past him to the video phone without looking at his face. "I'll go talk to him." As she began to dial, James looked at her suspiciously. She was up to something. 

She dialed the boss's number. Instead, a black-haired young girl came to the screen. "Hello? Oh, hi, Beck. I just needed to speak with the boss." James sighed with relief. It was Rebecca, the secretary. If the boss wasn't in, then maybe Jessie would stop and take time to think about her actions before she talked to Mr. Giovanni himself. 

"No, that's okay. Just be a doll and put me through to his machine, will you? Thanks, Becky, have a nice day. Good to talk to you too." Jessie paused for a second as Becky transferred her call to Giovanni's *voice?* mail. The familiar face came on, although it was just a recording, and asked her to speak after the tone. "Hello, Boss? This is Jessica Miyamoto, from group seven of division two." 

She knew he would remember who she was. She was just buying time. "This is regarding an earlier conversation with my partner, James Sassaké." She motioned to the lavender-haired young man standing behind her. 

"Hello, sir." He said uncomfortably. 

"Anyway." She turned back to the screen. "He's full of it. I quit, effective immediately." She gathered courage for a second, then made an obscene hand gesture at the screen. She took a deep breath to tell him exactly what she had just told James, exactly what she felt about the overbearing tyrant. 

Before she could continue, a pair of hands shot past her. One flipped off the machine, the other grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face him. With a surprising strength, he twisted her arm slightly so she was pinned between him and the phone. The other hand grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. The whole process took less than a second, and left her stunned. 

His green eyes were livid with a mixture of emotions that she didn't fully understand. He seemed more horrified than anything else. "Jessica Ann, what on earth do you think you're trying to prove?" He barelly whispered. Any other time, she would have laughed at him for using her middle name, as if he was her father or something. As it was, she glared back at him. 

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!" She shot back. She struggled a little, but he wouldn't budge. She frowned warningly and moved her free hand to slap him, and he released her face, catching it easily. 

"Jessica, answer me!" Her full name, twice. He may not be her father, but she knew that he was serious when he used her name like that. Finally, she looked up at him. The anger in her eyes had been replaced with tears, and he realized he had gone to far. He quickly released his grip, and stepped back to let her move away. 

She did, and didn't make any attempt to answer his question. Instead, she went to the fire to check on the rice. She was fuming. It wasn't what he had done, so much as the fact that she hadn't been able to escape his grip. 

"I'm sorry, Jessie." He said. 

She held her wrist and stared at the fire. It didn't hurt, not really, but it had surprised her. In all the time they had been together, he had never done anything to hint that he was stronger than her. This was a shock, and a very unwelcome one. 

He watched her for a second. "So that's it, you're just leaving?" He finally said indignantly. "When? Tonight? You definitely can't stay around here." He sat down next to her and looked at her. "What are you going to do?" He seemed to be taunting her. 

She nearly shrieked from the pent-up frustration and hit him. "I don't know, I don't know!" The tears were back, now streaming down her face. "Look at me, James. I'm seventeen. In another few months, I'll be an adult. What do I have to show? I have nothing, all these years have given me nothing. I've never even been on a date. I work all day, and at the end, I've got nothing to show but a few new electricity burns. Everybody hates me. I can't take it anymore. I want more." She turned to him with a determined look. "I deserve more." 

He had considered the dance they had gone to together his first date, but at this moment, he didn't think she wanted to hear that. "I don't hate you." 

"You don't hate this job, either. I don't think you hate anything." 

"I never said I enjoyed it." 

"But you haven't said you didn't, and you seem to think I'm crazy for wanting to leave. That seems to be the same as enjoying it." 

"Not wanting to leave, Jessie. Actually leaving. There's a big difference. Of course I want to quit. But I can't, and I know it, so I don't say anything." He looked at her, his face dark with concern. "I know they'd kill me. They'll kill you, too." 

"Then let's go together!" Her face suddenly brightened, as she had apparently only heard the first half. "Safety in numbers, and everything. We can act just the same as we've always been, only without Giovanni to boss us around and tell us we're worthless. Doesn't it sound like fun?" 

"For one day, which would be all we had before he found us. Jessie, this is silly, you're being silly about this. In a few days this'll pass, and you'll wonder what came over you." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me." 

"No." She pulled away softly and looked at him for a moment, her face downcast, then turned. "No, I guess not." 

"Huh?" 

"I guess you wouldn't, huh? That's not your style, is it? You always were the safe one. I understand." She walked over to her pile of things and began packing. James just watched solemnly. He knew he had lost more than just the argument. 

She lifted her bag onto her shoulder, then turned around one last time. "No hard feelings, right?" He just nodded gloomily, knowing he couldn't speak without his voice cracking. She cleared her throat nervously. "You are right about one thing, though." He raised an eyebrow, she never admitted he was right about anything. "They'll be here soon. I should go." 

"Take care of yourself, Jessie." He choked slightly, and couldn't say anything more. 

"I always do. Good luck, James." She hugged him tightly, like a little girl who's brother was going off to college. "Goodbye." 

"Bye." He hugged back as long as he dared, not wanting to let her go. Finally, however, she pulled away. He stepped back and watched the outline of his best friend slowly disappear, as the glare of the sunset made her blend in with the trees. It was all he could do to keep himself from running after her, but that's what he thought she wanted. All he could do was hope that this was just a ploy for attention, and she'd get bored when no one played along. 

When she was just almost out of view, she turned around and grinned brightly, waving at him. He gave a more half-hearted version of her smile and waved softly. Then she was gone. 

"Where's she going?" came an annoying voice. James looked down in surprise. 

"Meowth! When did you get here?!" 

"A few minutes ago. But you didn't answer me." Meowth looked up at the boy, with more of a vague curiosity then actual concern. "Where's she going?" 

James sighed and looked at the spot where he had last seen her. "I really don't know." He said worriedly. 

"Ohhhh..." Meowth nodded. "When will she be back?" 

"I really don't know." James repeated, and Meowth went quiet. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James tossed nervously, unable to sleep. Meowth watched with an uncomfortable silence as the boy rolled from side to side, mumbling softly. Meowth had only been able make out one word, but that one word but that one word had explained more then anything else James could have said. 

"Jessie." James softly whispered again. "Don't go." Meowth looked away. Jessie's actions the previous day had surprised him, as well. Meowth wasn't a human, but he had been around them for a long time. He thought he could at least partially understand their emotions, and he could have sworn he felt a strong one between the two humans on his Team. 

He knew that Jessie had never really shown much affection for James, but she showed more loyalty to him then she had shown to any other person he had ever seen her with. Even if it was a small amount, it was something... it had seemed like it was growing into something more. Meowth sighed. This was all just way to confusing for him. 

James rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping anyway, so why bother to pretend? It was a beautiful night, if cold. He wondered if Jessie was asleep yet. He wondered if the boss had sent out men after her yet. He wondered if Jessie stood half a chance. But most of all, he wondered if he'd ever see her again. 

Already, he missed her. The sound of her breathing, the way she mumbled their motto in her sleep, how she giggled as she won match after match in the arena of her mind. He missed having her around, even when she hit him. Jessibell had treated him roughly the same way, he was used to it. 

There was only one thing besides their different hairstyles that set the two girls apart, and that was dreams. Jessibell had always tried to cram him into the mold of what she wanted from life. Jessie was different. Although she was rather oppressive, at least she had the same dream. Until now, he had always assumed that they would see their dreams come true together. Hadn't Jess always felt the same way? 

James finally gave up and closed his eyes. He wasn't figuring anything out like this. Maybe he'd think better in the morning. With any luck, she would have time to think, and would be back before he woke up. He replayed the scene he had created the night before of waking up to burnt toast and grumbling. She would be back. That was comforting, if misleading, and he finally fell asleep. 

"Hey, you!" A gruff voice broke startled James out of a dream. Something about himself as a superhero Chansey who flew around delivering ice cream, donuts and clean socks (Red, of course) to lost trainers while wearing a cape and a pair of spike heels. 

"What?!" James sat up in his sleeping bag and looked around sleepily. A very mean looking man wearing the standard red-on-black Team Rocket uniform glared back at him. 

"Aren't you part of Team Rocket? What are you doing, sleeping at a time like this?" The man asked angrily. 

"A time like this?" James looked at his watch. His eyes were still too blurred to read it. "Whatever time it is, it's a good time to sleep in my book." He said drowsily. "Why? What's happening?" 

"Haven't you heard? The boss issued an all-member alert, a total manhunt. Or in this case, a womanhunt. She's been listed as a traitor since last night. Whoever can haul her back into headquarters gets an instant two-rank promotion and a bonus." James gulped. The boss never gave bonuses. He must really want the girl. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled photo. It was a picture of a very familiar red-head, winking and giving a peace sign. "Let's see." He looked at the back. "It say here her name's... 

"Jessie!" James grabbed the picture. 

The man looked surprised. "You know her?" 

James stared at the picture blankly. "She used to be in my group." He said quietly. The grave danger Jessie was in was just barely beginning to sink in. 

"Do you know where she went?" The bigger man asked menacingly. James looked around a little as if trying to remember, then pointed the opposite way he had last seen Jessie go. 

"I think she went that way." He said, managing to keep the fear out of his voice. The man stared at him suspiciously, and he gave his most convincing that's-the-best-I-can-do smiles. The man ran off down the path. 

James barely hesitated until the scary man was out of sight before leaping to his feet. He had to help her. Quickly, he slipped his boots on. Without getting anything, or even bothering to wake Meowth, he took off running down the right path. 

He wasn't sure how long he had run when he came to a fork in the road. He paused to catch his breath. The chances of finding her seemed pretty dismal. He had no clue which way she went, and she already had a full day-and-a-half head start on him. But something told him she hadn't gone far, he could catch up with her. He had to. 

He looked around a little. He was in a forest. That made it even harder to find his way around. There were mountains on two sides, with a sheer cliff on the right. He looked at it, and just for a second, he could have sworn he saw a flash of something red at the top. He took one last deep breath and ran toward the cliff side. 

It was rather steep, and he hadn't bothered to find a very good path. He was totally out of breath when he finally got to the top, and his side ached terribly. He collapsed into the cool grass and panted heavily for several minutes. After a while he managed to sit up, and looked around. 

No Jessie. He sighed disappointedly and slumped down, breathing normally. Suddenly he heard a twig snap behind him, and he leapt to his feet, whirling around. He found himself face-to-face with an angry cobra. 

"Arbok, Glare!" A voice came from behind the huge snake. 

"Charrrr." Arbok said threateningly, his eyes glowing a menacing red. James stared back, horrified. He knew what glare did... He tried to turn away, but the attack had already taken affect. 

"Charbo, charboku?" Arbok seemed confused as he recognized who he had paralyzed. 

"What's wrong, Arbok?" Jessie asked, walking over beside her favorite Pokemon and rubbing it under the chin. Then she turned to him. "You!" She seemed horrified. 

"Jessie?!" He said worriedly. She didn't look like the same girl who had left camp the previous night. Her normally perfect hair was ratty and tangled, and her clothes were torn. She had several new bruises, and large bags under her eyes. It was obvious that she hadn't slept since she left. Her eyes were bloodshot and tiered, but also full of fear bordering on lunacy. He was about to ask what happened when she cut him off. 

"I swear, James. Out of all of the people I expected to find after me, you were the last." Her eyes were full of pain. "I expected more out of you." 

"But, I...." James tried to protest. She silenced him with a slap. 

"You can tell your boss that I wouldn't work for him again if he were the last person on earth. His little operation is the most vile, repugnant excuse for a hell hole I've ever heard of. I'll never go back. I'd rather tongue a snake." She turned to her cobra. "If you'll excuse the term, Arbok." 

"What? What are you talking about?" James asked, bewildered. Why was she so mad at him? He was only trying to help. She really didn't think he would.... Did she? "But, Jessie, I wasn't trying to turn you in, or whatever you think. I was worried, that's all. Really!" He pleaded. 

She grinned, and her eyes flashed maniacally. "Of course, James." She cooed mockingly. "You were only worried about me. I believe you." She laughed. "They all are 'just worried' about me. Why didn't I see it before?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. She turned to Arbok. "We can go home now, sweety. It's okay, they're 'just worried." The large snake stared sadly at its master, afraid of her strange new attitude. She whirled back toward James and glared at him. 

"Do you expect me to believe that? Honestly, do you think I'm that stupid? I'm smarter then you. Don't push me, Jim. I might push back." She put one hand against his chest and pushed lightly, and he tipped dangerously toward the cliff. 

"Stop that! It is true!!" He yelled, trying to reason. He was shaking horribly. Even with all the times she'd hurt him, she'd never gotten so close to killing him as she just had. "Jessie, we've been best friends for years. Do you really think I would turn on you for a stupid promotion?! Is that all you think of me?" 

For a moment, her eyes seemed to get their old life back as she considered what he said. Then the grin returned as she walked towards him. "Of course I don't." He smiled with relief. "At least, I didn't. But then, I never thought most of you would. For the past day I've been running for my life. Old friends, people we went through training with, even a cousin! James, I've been betrayed by everyone I knew and trusted. You were the last." 

"Jessie..." She was scaring him. Finally, he thought of something. "What about Zee? What about your brother? Have they turned on you?" he seemed confused by this. Zee and Charley were both rather different, but they were really very important to her. Also, they really hadn't done anything to hurt her. 

"I... I don't know... Have they?" She looked around nervously. "I'm not sure. I don't know anything anymore, James. It's all a lie, everything is a lie." 

James stared nervously at his partner, her sanity was rapidly deteriorating. He struggled against his body, it seemed unwilling to move. "That's not true, Jessie." He attempted to reason with her again. 

"That's right, James. It's not true, It's a lie." She grinned smugly, as if she had just tricked him into admitting that everything she had said was true. Or, maybe, that it wasn't. 

"Jessie, stop that! You're scared, I can understand that..." 

"No you don't!" She cut him off, fuming again. "You don't have a clue what I'm dealing with! What I'm going through, what's happening, you couldn't understand." She was still furious, but at least now she was mad at him for being insensitive, not for betraying her. 

James just let her speak. He really did feel sorry for her, but he really had no idea what to do. Everything he said just made her more angry, and tore her apart even more. And that tore him apart, too. "Jessie." He couldn't say anything more. 

She turned around and looked into his soft emerald eyes for a moment, studying his face intently. Finally, she seemed to realize that he really wasn't after her, and smiled weakly. "You really meant all of that, didn't you? Aww... James, you're just too sweet. Poor thing. It must be hard to be so naive." She walked over to his still-frozen body, taking his face in her hand. She continued her gaze for a second, then leaned forward, kissing him softly on the lips. His eyes widened in shock for a second, then closed tightly, savoring the feeling. Before he could get over the surprise though, she pulled away. Jessie glanced back into his bright green eyes for a second, then spun around. "Come along, Arbok." 

"Charrrr..." Arbok looked at her, then turned back to the still paralyzed young man nervously. "Charbok, Charr?" 

"He'll be okay in a little while. We'd better go now." She turned to James. "It looks like this is goodbye, for good this time. Please don't follow me. I don't want you to have to get involved." She smiled bitterly. "I don't have much time left. He'll find me. There's nowhere to run." 

"But, Jessie..." He said, still recovering from the shock of her unexpected affection. She was already gone. He sighed. He was where he started. He was freezing, but he still couldn't move at all. He tried to get his mind off of it by debating whether or not he should go after her. He knew she didn't want him to, and, In a way, he agreed. He would probably just end up getting in the way. On the other hand, he couldn't really leave her face things alone and still call himself a friend... 

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Jessie's shriek shook him out of his thoughts. He snapped his head towards the trees where he had seen the noise. It was too dense to see, but he could tell that far off, not more then a hundred yards. If it weren't for his 'problem', he could have been there by now. As it was, he could only listen. 

"Let go of me, you son of a-ouch!" he heard her growl, quickly followed by the sound of a mallet against a skull. Several obscenities, angry hisses and 'Char's, and general noises of fighting ensued. Suddenly, three gunshots rang out, and everything went deathly quiet. 

James felt his stomach tighten as his legs went weak. He had never felt so happy to have his knees go out as the paralysis began to wear off. He landed on his knees and gazed blankly at the patch of trees as he waited for feeling to return. His whole body was on pins and needles, but it was a welcome change to the numbness. 

Slowly, painfully, he rose to his feet, his legs wobbling unsteadily. He began to make his way through the trees. Several times he faltered, barely catching himself on shaky hands. Cautiously, he rose to his feet and continued. He was just beginning to get the hang of his body when he got to a clearing. 

A giant snake was lying in the middle of it, wheezing softly. James ran towards it. "Arbok!" He yelled, sliding to his knees beside the wounded pokemon. 

"Bok... Bok char." The snake answered weakly, turning toward the boy. James gasped as he saw the bullet hole through Arbok's hood. 

James pulled out a Pokeball. "Arbok, return." He moved the small ball towards the giant snake nervously. "You'll be safer in here." He hastily explained. Unlike Weezing, or most pokemon for that matter, Arbok really made him nervous. James had never been particularly fond of snakes, and at over eleven feet long, He had James beat in size and weight. Weezing could blow smoke at you, but Arbok could crack your ribs, and probably eat you whole. 

However, Arbok seemed to understand, and went willingly into the ball. James sighed thankfully and returned it to his belt, looking around. There was no sign of Jessie, or anyone else, for that matter. There were a few broken branches and other signs of the fight that had taken place, but nothing that gave any hint as to which way they went. 

James lowered his head in defeat, fighting back tears. He wondered if she was okay. He knew Arbok had received one of the shots, but there were still two unaccounted for. He was pretty certain that Jessie didn't have a gun. 

He shook his head quietly, then looked up. The sun was beginning to rise. Meowth would be awake soon. He would have to feign innocence and play along, pretending that he didn't know what had happened. With luck, someone would drop a hint. 

He turned back to the clearing one last time and closed his eyes in a silent prayer for his partner's safety. He pulled out a single scarlet rose and held it to his face for a second, then tossed it into the middle of the small clearing. "Goodbye, Jess." He whispered softly as he left. 

To be continued...

  
Giovanni reminds me of my father, so when I write, I tend to make them act the same. That's why Giovanni acts so evil in my stuff. (Honestly. My father is scary) I apologize to Giovanni fans.   
I had no idea what, if any last names they had, and I couldn't use English namesakes, cause they shared one. (I guess it could be Jessie James & James James, like in the Mario Bros. Movie. What? None of you out there have seen it?! Figures. I envy you)   
Anyway, their last names come from Musashi Miyamoto & Kojiro Sasake, their original namesakes. I added an extra 's' to Sassaké the third time my brother complained that I made James related to Giovanni. Sakaki, Sasake, I don't think they sound anything alike. The é makes it seem a little more classy... But that's just my opinion. If you don't like it, Then send me better ones.   
Send comments, complaints, grammatical corrections , suggestions, ideas (good or bad), amusing anecdotes, bad puns, good recipes, or just about anything else to [ Ami][1] When this story originally ran at my site, it only go one review. I hope it does better here.

   [1]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@yahoo.com



	2. Nowhere 2 Run: Rocket Da(m)n

The Rocket Da(m)n

Nowhere 2 Run: **  
The Rocket Da(m)n**

Warning: This one's a little worse again. This one has some violence, and what it has is pretty disturbing. I don't own, or claim to own, anyone in this story. Except maybe Becky. I don't think I have any legal claim to her anyway, though. As always, take her if you want her. I don't care. Send any and all coments to [Ami][1]

"Where have you been?" Meowth looked over his shoulder as James entered the campsite, a very nervous expression clouding his face. "It's still so early. You're never up at this time in the morning. It's not even noon yet!" 

James ignored the wisecrack and retorted, "I just went for a walk, that's all. I haven't been able to sleep lately. What with Jessie leaving and all..." It was a lie, but he really didn't care. 

"It's funny you should mention her..." Meowth's expression darkened, and James looked over. "The boss called this morning." James looked surprised, but said nothing. "He wanted to offer his condolences... on her passing." 

"Her passing?!!" James's eyes widened. "You don't mean..." 

"I'm afraid so." Meowth said quietly. He looked down at his feet, purposely avoiding the lavender-haired teenager's horrified expression. "Sometime, either last night or this morning... She... She ended it all." 

"THAT'S A LIE!" James screamed. 

"One of our agents found her a few hours ago, at the bottom of a cliff." Meowth sniffled, then added, "There was no one around. This whole thing must have been too much for her... I'm sorry, James... Truly sorry." Meowth wasn't sure what to say. 

"It's not true!" He yelled. No one around?! He had been close enough to hear her scream, close enough to hear the gunshots. And he knew for a fact that Jessie had been alive when he last saw her just over an hour ago. He wasn't sure if she still was, but whatever happened to her was no accident. "She wouldn't... She didn't!" It was indescribably frustrating to him, not being able to admit what he knew. "I know her. She didn't." He said finally. That was true, at least. 

"I know her too. At least I thought I did, but she's been acting so strange lately. It's so awful." Meowth looked over at the boy. His fists were tightly clenched against his sides, and his entire body was shaking. "Are you okay, James?" He asked nervously. 

"Of course I'm not, you idiot!" James screamed. He leaned against a tree. "She's not dead... She can't be!" He slid down the trunk to a sitting position and buried his face in his hands. For once, tears didn't come. He had always cried, often times more than Jessie. This, however, seemed to upsetting even to cry. "Jessie..." 

Just a few short days ago, this would have been unthinkable. Why had she quit? He had warned her this would happen. You don't leave Team Rocket, not alive. She couldn't be dead, though. Could she? Why would the boss offer such a large reward for her corpse? Why would he offer such a large reward for her at all? Why was she so special? Why would he have her killed? Why would he claim she was dead, when she wasn't? He shook his head violently. "It's all a lie... everything is a lie!" 

"It's all a lie, everything is a lie." Jessie's words rang through his head. "It must be hard to be so naive." Naive... What was she talking about? Did she know something he didn't? Could that be the reason the Boss wanted her gone so badly? He shook his head again, and hung it in defeat. His eyes rested on the three pokeballs on his belt. Three? 

"Arbok." James whispered softly. He took out the ball and looked at it. Arbok, level 79. Original trainer, Jessie, ID #50962. It went on to list it's learned attacks and status: Fnt. Arbok needed medical attention, and fast. He stood up. 

"Where are you going?" Meowth asked nervously. 

To the Pokemon Center. Weezing's been acting sick lately. I wouldn't want to loose two friends." Before Meowth could protest, or ask what on earth would make you think a nearly four foot tall collection of toxic waste and poison gas could be any sicker then it already was, James hurried down the path. 

Meowth sighed and waited until he was well out of earshot. Then he went to the phone. Gravely, he dialed Giovanni's number. The secretary came on. "Hi Becky, it's about James." The young girl on the phone went slightly pale, but only nodded and quickly punched some buttons and disappeared. Her image was quickly replaced by a darker one, that of his boss. 

"Yes, Meowth? What have you got to report?" The boss asked curtly, stroking his favorite Persian and frowning disapprovingly. 

"I told him, sir. Exactly what you told me to say." Meowth said nervously. The Boss only nodded and waited for him to continue. "He doesn't believe it. I told you sir, Jessie isn't like that. He knows she wouldn't kill herself. She enjoys... Enjoyed... Her life." On 'enjoyed', his voice cracked slightly. If Giovanni noticed, he ignored it. "Sir, why?" Meowth nearly yelled, then caught himself. "We shouldn't have said we found her. He'll want to see the body." 

"Don't worry, Meowth." The boss grinned sadistically. "If he wants a body, he'll get a body. If things go as planned, her funeral is next Wednesday." Meowth cringed, he too had be secretly hoping she was alive. "If that doesn't satisfy him, then we'll *deal* with him." 

"What do you mean, sir?" 

"Now, now, Meowth. Why so many questions? You know what they say..." Giovanni's eyes narrowed threateningly. "Curiosity killed the cat." 

"Yes sir, of course, sir..." Meowth gulped. "I... I-I won't take any more of your time, sir." 

"Send him in." 

"What?" 

"Tomorrow, at nine sharp. I'll talk to him. That is all." Giovanni looked down for a moment, then added. "Such a waste..." Meowth looked up. Did he care? The Boss feigned sadness for a second, then laughed coldly. "Cadavers are so hard to find." He hung up the phone, then turned to the girl in the room. "Are you going to be a cadaver, my dear?" He said mockingly. 

Jessie didn't answer, didn't even move. The only thing that betrayed her apparent lifelessness was the slight rising and falling of her chest. His eyes rested on the movement, then he let his eyes roam her delicate figure. Except for the two restraining straps that held her arms up above her head and her feet to secure her, the only thing that held her to the wall was a web of wires. Her limp form was wrapped in tubes and cables of every size and color, entering her body in at least a dozen different places and spreading out around her like wings. They monitored every aspect of her body. That was all... For now. She needed to be conscious for the rest of the experiment. 

Giovanni stood, his eyes still fixated on his radiant captive. At a mere seventeen years old, she was hardly even half his age. He knew that by all rights, she should be out of his reach. Somehow, that just made her a more exciting challenge. 

He walked over to her. "So, how's my favorite guinea pig doing?" He checked some readouts. "Good, good. Everything seems to be in order. Now all we need is for you to wake up. How about it. Can you do that for your Boss?" He took her chin and tipped her face up at him. She didn't move. 

He moved forward. "Soon, Jessie, soon." He whispered into her ear, then kissed it. "You're about to make history." His lips parted in an evil smile, and he chuckled as he walked back to his chair. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James walked slowly back to camp, dragging his feet slightly. "I hope you realize that I can't understand a word you say." He told the angry cobra. 

"Bok! Charbok, char! Charchar bok charboku!!" Arbok didn't seem clear on the concept. "Charbok..." 

"You want to save Jessie, right? I know that." James sighed. "But we don't know where she is. We don't even know if she's alive." 

"Charbok! Charrrrrr-bok!" 

James looked at it. "You think she's still alive, don't you?" The snake nodded vigorously. "Well... I hope you're right." He noticed that they were getting closer to camp. "You'd better get back in the ball, Arbok." 

"Bok." That sounded a lot like... 

"No? What do you mean, no?!" He frowned. "You have to!" Arbok shook his head defiantly. 

"Char charbok." (James isn't Jessie, and he's not Master.) "Charr bok boku." (Arbok doesn't have to listen to James.) 

"What do you mean?" James wasn't sure what Arbok was saying, but he knew he didn't like it. 

"Char bok charbok, char." (Does James have even one badge?) 

"Arbok, stop it! Geez... Weezing always listens to Jessie." 

"Bok, bok, bok." Arbok just laughed. 

James sighed. If he hadn't taken it from Meowth for all of these years, he wouldn't have been able to take this sort of verbal abuse from a Pokemon. "You've got her attitude, that's for sure." 

"Char-bok!" (Thank you!) 

"However... You seem to forget who saved your life back there. I could have left you." Arbok nodded, then thought about it for a moment. He hung his head slightly, embarrassed. "I want Jessie safe just as much as you do, but we can't rush into this. You are going back into this ball, and we are going to go report back to Meowth, and then..." 

"Char! Charbok, bok! Boku, bok Charbok!" (Arbok doesn't trust Meowth! Meowth knows what happened!) 

"You don't like Meowth? Well, I don't either. For right now, however, he's what we've got. He's the only one of us who might know what happened." 

"Char, bok bok Charboku." (Arbok knows what happened. Jessie told Arbok.) 

"Arbok, you know I can't understand you. If you really need to tell me something, then you'll have to get Meowth to translate." James frowned. This was getting old. 

"CHAR!! Charbok, bok!!!" (Arbok doesn't trust Meowth!!!) 

"Yeah, I guessed." James repressed the urge to strangle Arbok. "So, what's your plan then? You want to run in the front door? They'd just kill us. That won't help us any. We have to wait." He looked at his feet. "I know it's hard..." He stopped walking. 

Arbok looked over nervously. "Boku?" 

James just turned away, but Arbok could see his eyes well with tears first. "I know she's your master, but you have to remember, she's the only friend I have in the world. I really do care." 

"Char... bok char." Arbok said comfortingly. James looked down again, Arbok knew he wasn't helping any. Finally, he reached down toward James's waist, touching his pokeball with the tip of his nose. The ball opened, and Arbok disappeared in a flash of light. 

James smiled slightly and wiped his eyes. "Thank you." He whispered under his breath, picking up the ball. He hurried to where they had made camp. 

"So, how's Weezing?" Meowth asked. 

"Same as usual, I guess. It takes a lot to make him sick. Why do you care?" Sympathy definitely wasn't Meowth's strong point. 

"I just do!" Meowth snapped defensively. Then he added more quietly, "The boss wants to see you... Tomorrow morning, at nine." 

"About what?" 

"You know. He wants to review what your plans are going to be now that... Now that we... Well... Now that you're a one-person team. Will you go?" Meowth asked apprehensively. James wasn't exactly in his best mood, and Meowth could guess that he believed the boss to be involved. 

"Yeah, sure." Right now, James could think of a million things he'd rather do than see that man, not the least of which involved hungry growlithes and strapping meat to his body. For the moment, however, he had no choice. He had to know. "I'll be there." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James sat in the waiting room impatiently. He checked his watch, it was already nine-thirty. He frowned and sat back, crossing his legs, then uncrossed them and tapped his foot restlessly. He picked up a magazine and pretended to be reading. 

Across the room, Becky nervously attempted to type. She was supposed to be working on a letter to the president of Silph, but she couldn't keep her attention off of the boy across the room. He was trying not to show it, but she knew how upset he was. She wanted to console him, but was afraid she'd let something slip. Finally, she cleared her throat, and James looked up. 

"James?" He nodded slightly, and she uncomfortably continued. "I just heard. I'm so sorry. It's horrible. Jessie didn't deserve... Nobody should have that happen. I'm sorry James... So sorry." She wanted to tell him everything about what had happened to Jessie. How she had been dragged in half dead, how the Boss had made Becky clean her wounds and help him hook her unconscious body up to the his horrible machine, how she hung there still, only two rooms away. Her conscience was murdering her. 

"It's not your fault. You had nothing to do with it." He muttered, looking away. 

She gulped. He had no idea how wrong he was. "I feel awful. I put her through to his machine." The message she left had signed Jessie's death warrant. "I should have noticed she wasn't feeling alright. I should have talked to her. It's so horrible." 

"It's okay. I couldn't stop her either." His voice cracked, and Becky knew it was time to quit. She fidgeted nervously. 

Finally she looked at the clock on the wall. "I'm going to see what's taking him so long." She said quickly, heading for the large double doors. 

James's eyes followed her out. Her nervousness had given her away, he knew she knew what was happening. It seemed like everyone besides him knew what was going on. He frowned at the paper in his hands. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Becky entered the office and looked around. It was empty. She sighed and walked over to the far wall, pressing it lightly. It smoothly moved away from her hand, revealing a small lab. Becky shivered as she saw Giovanni watching his beloved prisoner. He did that so often lately, it seemed every time she came in he was eyeing Jessie. Becky didn't even want to know what he could be thinking about her. "Sir?" 

He jumped slightly at her voice, obviously shaken out of deep thought. He turned to her. "She's nearly awake. I want you to stay here while I deal with him." He jerked his head in the direction of the waiting room as he pulled out a gun, pressing it into Becky's hands. "Make sure she stays quiet. That nuisance is annoying enough when he doesn't know anything." He growled. 

"But-but sir... I, I, I couldn't..." Becky stammered, staring at the gun with horror. 

"She doesn't have to know that." Giovanni said simply, heading through the wall. He turned back to her. "If he does find out about this, you realize I'll have to have him killed." He said, then pushed the wall back into place. 

Becky gulped tensely at the overwhelming silence, then turned to the unconscious girl. Jessie stirred slightly. "Please don't wake up, Jessie." Becky barelly whispered. Jessie moaned softly and moved a little. Becky held her breath, fighting back tears. She was a member of Team Rocket, this shouldn't bother her. It did, though. It scared her to the core. Jessie had always been a good friend of hers. This was awful. "Jessie..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You wanted to see me, sir?" James asked softly. 

"Yes... Have a seat." Giovanni turned his chair to face James. "My condolences on your loss." He said, thoughtfully faking sincerity. 

"We're from Team Rocket, sir. Death is always a possibility." James said numbly, taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk. 

"That's a good boy. She was just another colleague to you, eh?" James cringed slightly, but Giovanni didn't seem to notice. In fact, he seemed genuinely impressed. "Now, let's discuss this new plan." 

---

Jessie's eyes fluttered halfway open, and she groaned. "What? Where am I?" She asked groggily. She tried to move, then looked over to see what was stopping it. At the sight of all the wires in her arm, her eyes widened in terror. Becky jumped up towards her as she opened her mouth to shriek. 

---

James glanced nervously at the wall as the sound of a muffled scream followed by several clunks and thuds sounded from it. "What was that?" He asked quickly. 

Giovanni glared at the wall, inwardly cursing Becky's conscience. "Ignore it. There's some construction going on next door. Somebody probably just fell." He turned to James. "Let's get back to business." He said hurriedly. 

---

Jessie struggled as Becky tried to cover her mouth. "Get your hands off of me!" Jessie bit down hard on Becky's hand, and she hurriedly pulled it away, biting her lip to avoid screaming. Jessie glared at her and yanked her arms away. 

"Stop it! Jessie, you'll hurt yourself!" Becky pleaded quietly, glancing nervously at the wall. "The boss is in a meeting. If you keep this up, he'll kill us both." 

"It appears he's already planning to kill me." Jessie hissed. "Why should I care what happens to you? You've been in on this all along, haven't you?" She struggled against her restraints, then gasped as an electric shock went through her. 

"Jessie, stop it! I'm sorry!" Becky cried. "I didn't want this to happen. I really didn't." She glanced back at the wall. "James is in there." 

"James?!" Jessie froze. "The boss has him, too?" 

"He's in for a meeting. He was told that you committed suicide yesterday." Becky glanced at her feet. "He doesn't know about this... If he does find out, the boss is gonna kill him." She looked up. 

"He knows." Jessie said softly. "He wasn't very far away when they got me. I'm sure he at least heard." Jessie was surprised he hadn't gotten caught. They really hadn't seen him? Becky was both relieved and alarmed by this new information. 

"Then he must be playing along." She said, more to herself then to Jessie. "I thought he was taking this whole thing pretty well to believe you were dead." 

Jessie ignored this last remark and looked at the machine she was hooked up to. "What are they doing to me?" She asked nervously. Becky just shook her head. 

"I don't think you want to know." She said quietly, and Jessie gulped. 

---

James glanced back at the wall nervously. As quickly as they had begun, the noises died down. "Are you sure it's okay? It sounded pretty bad." It had sounded like Jessie. 

"Of course it's okay." Giovanni said curtly. "Anyway, I think were done here. Unless you have anything you need to say, you may leave now." He motioned to the door. "Have a nice day." 

"Yes, sir. Goodbye." James bowed slightly and turned to go. As soon as the doors closed behind him, he turned around and glared at them. That man was up to something, that was obvious. James just wondered what it was. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wall swung open, and both girls snapped their heads towards the ominous figure now entering. Becky stood up and hurriedly shoved the gun back into her boss's hands. "I'll be going now, sir." She said quickly, heading for the wall. He put an arm in her way, stopping her. 

"I'm disappointed in you, Rebecca. You nearly blew the whole thing back there." Becky bowed her head in shame. 

I'm very sorry, sir." She said quietly. He released her. 

"Make sure no one enters here. I want no one anywhere near my office for at least an hour. No phone calls, no visitors, nothing. Don't disappoint me again." Becky nodded rapidly and ran out, shutting the wall as she left. Giovanni turned his attention to the other person in the room. "Hello, Jessica." 

"Piss off." Jessie turned away. 

"Now now, such language, Jessie dear. Is something wrong?" He asked with mock sincerity. "You know my employee's happiness is always my highest priority." 

"Of course not. Everything is just perfect. I love this sort of thing." Now it was Jessie's turn to be sarcastic. "Besides, what can you do to me? I'm already dead, right? Since yesterday, if I'm not mistaken." 

"Yes, well that's what we told him." Giovanni stood very close to her, towering over her menacingly. "What I need to know, is what you told him." Jessie looked up questioningly, and he continued: "It will help me determine how high a priority exterminating him will be." 

Jessie's eyes widened in sheer terror, and she quickly choked on her tears. "I didn't tell him anything." She whispered, her voice tight as she attempted to hold back a sob. This was all her fault. She had gotten him involved... 

"That's a lie, Jessie." 

"I only told him that you scared me, and that I hated working for a demon like you. That's all." A single tear slid down her cheek as she turned away. If he was killed, she'd never forgive herself. Not that she'd be around to know. 

"All lies come from hell, Jessie." 

"That's it!! I told him that he was nice, and that I wished other people could be as sweet as him. Nothing else." She gulped. "I don't even know anything else." 

"That's not true." Giovanni's hand came down on her neck, slowly grabbing her collar as he spoke. She gulped again and turned to him. "Why don't you explain this to me: You see, there's this ex-worker of mine. She could be anyone. Let's just call her..." He tightened his grip, and she gagged slightly. "...'Jessie'. Anyway, a few days ago this girl, Jessie, came in. Was she supposed to be here? No, she wasn't. She certainly shouldn't have been near my office. Jessie must have taken a wrong turn, didn't she? Or maybe, she was spying. Do you think?" He said threateningly. 

"I wasn't spying!" she choked. "I was quitting! But then I heard all the screaming. I thought someone was hurt! I just wanted to help, really!" His grip tightened, and she couldn't say anything else. 

"Nice." He said scornfully. "Anyway, this Jessie girl, she saw something she shouldn't have. She saw an experiment, a human one, right? With another 'fallen' member of Team Rocket, right? Just like what she was about to become, right? I think it was even with this same machine. Do you think so?" 

"What is it?! What is this thing? What are you doing to me? What did you do to her?!" Jessie asked hoarsely. "Did you... Did you kill her?" 

"Oh, come on, Jessie. You've always hated Cassidy, right? What do you care what happened to her?" 

"But, I..." Jessie didn't like her, but she certainly didn't want her dead. 

"She had made a deal with the police. She was going to talk in exchange for a lighter sentence. Her partner, too. We can't have such treason. They needed to be 'reprimanded'." He took her face gruffly in his hand, forcing her to face him. "And you saw. And you quit. You were planning to talk, too, weren't you? We can't have tattlers." 

"No..." He shook her roughly before she could say anything more. 

"Of course not. You need correction too, don't you? But take heart, Jessie. With your high tolerance to pain, your general health, and your seeming resistance to electricity, I'm sure you have at least a 20% chance of living. You know what they say, third times the charm. Would you like a kiss goodbye?" He moved towards her, and she spit on him. 

For a second she thought he was going to hit her, but he just wiped it away with a handkerchief, which he stuffed into her mouth. "Of course, if you don't survive, we can always use your man." She growled something against the handkerchief and he flipped a switch. The machine began to hum as he turned to her. "Welcome to the Legion, my dear." He slowly raised a lever, and Jessie gasped as the first traces of electricity shot through her body. 

---

James quickly slipped around the side of the building, his back to the wall. There had to be another entrance. He had seen a few windows, but they had all been too high to reach. He looked up. There was a window, about ten feet above his head. He frowned. Was it worth it? 

He sighed. At least it was lower then some of the other ones. He might as well try. He noticed a crack in the wall, and jumped up to try to catch it. He missed it, and fell back to the ground. A pokeball fell from his belt, bouncing off the ground. It spouted open. 

"Charbok!" Arbok hissed. 

"Arbok!" James yelled. "Give me a hand here, will you?" Arbok looked around, then shrugged his coils, looking up questioningly. "Just help me get to that window." James said. Arbok nodded and grabbed James by the back of his neck. He raised the boy up as high as he could, but here were still a good five feet to go. Arbok flicked his head, tossing him the rest of the way up. 

James squealed and flailed his arms wildly, barelly catching the windowsill. Fortunately, the window was rather sunk in, and he managed to obtain a precarious balance. He looked in the window and froze, horrified. 

---

"You see, dearest, this machine channels the energy of psychic pokemon. You've heard of Mew, right? Well, I have created a clone, a superior version of it. His name is Mewtwo. This machine is hooked up to his restraint mechanisms." He pressed a few buttons, and a long stream of paper began spewing out. He took it and looked at it. "Impressive... You're holding up wonderfully." 

Jessie finally got the handkerchief out of her mouth. "What's happening? What are you doing to me?" She hissed through clenched teeth, holding back a scream. 

"Well..." He kept his eyes on the paper. "Astounding... This is most encouraging. You've got a good chance here!" He glanced up. "Oh yes. You see, Jessie, this machine is going to give Mewtwo total control of your body." 

"WHAT?!!" 

"It's quite simple, actually. Mewtwo controls you, I control Mewtwo. In effect, you become my slave. Would you rather be called a puppet?" 

"You're insane!" The electricity had intensified to a nearly unbearable level. She writhed a little, then let out a scream as he raised it even higher. 

"Incredible!" Giovanni looked at the papers ecstatically, totally ignoring her pain. "Cassidy was dead by now. You're doing great." He looked up at her. "Now we just leave it like this for ten minutes, then crank it up to full." 

Ten minutes?! Well, at least she had time to get right with the world. She thought she could make it for now. "_Mom.._" She thought to herself. "_I'm sorry I broke your favorite vase. I miss you so much, Mommy. I hope I'll get to see you soon. Zee, I'm sorry I let you get blamed for it. I'm sorry I always called you a brat. I'm sorry I yelled at you for messing with my makeup. Charley, I'm sorry I always stole your comics. I'm sorry..."_ She continued to list everything she had ever done to her family. 

"_I'm sorry... So very sorry... I joined Team Rocket. Dad..._" She smiled bitterly. At least this one wouldn't take much time. "_Look what you've done. I hope you're happy with yourself._" That only left one person... "_James..._" She gulped. She'd never get through all of the things she wanted to say to him, not if she had all day. "_I'm sorry you ever met me._" A tear slipped down her face, steaming from the intense electricity. "_I hope you live through this..._" 

She forced her eyes open. Giovanni was watching her intently, but she felt like someone else was as well. She glanced around the room, and her gaze caught something lavender in the window. Her eyes widened. 

---

James pounded on the window, on the verge of tears. What was happening? What was that man doing to her?!" The window was bulletproof and soundproof. He knew he couldn't break it, but he pounded a few more times. "Jessie!" Her delicate body convulsed slightly, and she screamed again. "No!! Oh, God no... Jessie!" He leaned his head against the window, tears streaming down his face. 

Suddenly, he realized she had seen him. Their eyes locked, and her lips formed a single word: "James." She suddenly realized she had given him away. She turned away, embarrassed. James shook his head and pounded on the glass again. It was unbearably aggravating, seeing her in such intolerable pain without, yet helpless to stop it. He pounded again, hoping to get her to look back at him. 

However, James' Boss had heard Jessie say his name, and James felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as Giovanni turned around to face him. James began to shake terribly as the two men exchanged powerful glares. If looks could kill, both of them would have probably crumbled away immediately. Suddenly, Giovanni got a dangerously smug look on his face. James could only watch helplessly as the older man walked towards his partner. 

Giovanni took her face again, and she scowled at him. "I think I'll take that kiss now." He grinned, pulling her towards him. Jessie screamed and tried to pull away. She had been weakened by all the electricity, however, and only put up a slight struggle. 

Suddenly, a beeping noise came from the control panel. Giovanni turned to glare at it. The ten minutes were up, he'd better start the final phase. He growled, but released her. As he walked over to the machine's controls, Jessie threw one last forlorn look to the boy in the window. "Goodbye." She whispered softly as unconsciousness began to take over. 

---

"Goodbye?! No! Jessie, don't go, please don't leave me like this." James was nearly crying again. Jessie, I love you." He whispered. He wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but he knew that he cared about her more than anybody in the world, including himself. She couldn't hear him anyway, she had given up trying to stay awake. "Jessie..." Then the machine was cranked up to full power, and she shrieked so loud he swore he felt the glass shake. 

---

"This is what killed Butch." Giovanni said simply. He looked up, the electricity was visibly dancing over her body. She screamed one last time, and her body went totally limp. "And you too, apparently." He stared at her disappointedly for a second, then glanced back to the window. James was gone. He knew he should call security, but at the moment, he couldn't seem to make himself care. 

As haughty and uncaring as he had tried to pass himself off as, he had expected her to survive. He wouldn't have sent her through it if he hadn't. He sighed disappointedly and started looking through the papers. He wanted to see where it had went wrong. He couldn't seem to find anything. Finally, he looked up. "Jessie?!" 

**To Be Continued...**

In loving memory of my beloved Arbok: Red Version, Level 79, Original Trainer: Jessie, ID# 50962 _** You mean you named yourself Jessie? (^.^;)**_ Of course I did. Didn't everybody? Anyway, Let this be a chilling reminder of the dangers of Game Genies. My Poor baby was killed in a freak file erasure. **_May this mention honor his memory._** Rest in peace, my friend. 

(-/\-) <- A silent prayer 

Constructive reviews are _greatly_ appreciated. Thanks for your time ^_^ 

   [1]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@yahoo.com



	3. Nowhere too Run: Little Gym

Little Gyms

Nowhere too run:   
Little Gyms... 

By[Ami][1] _Warning: I don't own these characters. If you didn't know that, then please leave. I don't have room for stupid people. This story has almost (Again, note the almost) no swearing, and is basically safe. There's a pokemon battle and a slap, but that's about it._

James opened his eyes. His head ached horribly. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was falling from the window. If he hadn't fainted on the way down, the ground had relieved him of his consciousness. 

He looked around. He appeared to be back in Viridian Forest, where he and Meowth had been camping. That wasn't right. How had he gotten away? Giovanni had definitely seen him. Had he let him escape? If so, why? What was he doing out here, anyway? 

"Char-bok!" (good morning!) James suddenly found his face inches away from that of a familiar snake. "Char, char bok?" (How is James feeling?) The snake asked worriedly. 

James jumped backwards from the surprise, then looked up. "Arbok! Don't scare me like that!" Arbok grumbled something along the lines of `chicken-boy', but apologized. James slumped down. Just that little movement had made him nauseous. He rubbed his neck. "What happened?" 

"Charbok, boku, charbok." (Arbok was going to ask James the same thing.) James looked up at the snake questioningly, and Arbok tried again. "Char.. bok... char bok... bo-ku." He said slowly. (It is not hard... listen carefully...) James shook his head lightly to show that he didn't understand. Arbok sighed. "Charrrbok. Char bok!" He stood up as high as he could, and pretended to look at something. 

"You're supposed to be me now, right?" James guessed. 

"Char." (Right.) Arbok hissed at the unseen window, then fell over backwards. "Char... bok!" Arbok hissed as he hit the ground. he lay still for a few seconds, not moving at all. Finally, James crawled over to see if he was okay. "Char!" Arbok sat up, and James fell over backwards. 

"Would you stop that?!" James put his arms over his aching head. "You're not helping!" 

"Charboku, boku char..." (Arbok normally eats chicken, not help them.) Arbok hissed, flustered by the boy's cluelessness. "Charbok char charbok." (Jessie would understand.) Then he looked down at the spot where he had been lying. Slowly, he dragged the invisible body off. Then he looked up at James expectantly. "Charbok." 

"So, you're saying that you saved me?" James asked. Arbok nodded and waited. "What? Something else? Let's see... I fell?" Arbok fell over. 

"Charbok? Charbokku?!" The large snake was beginning to get flustered. James stared back blankly. "Charbok.. Bok?" Arbok went back to the invisible window. "Charbok! Charbok?!" He looked from the `window' to James, then back. 

"Oh, I see. You're asking what I saw, aren't you?" 

"Bo-ku." Arbok nodded, thankful that James had finally gotten it. 

"Well...." James rubbed his head again, trying to focus. He was still rather woozy. Suddenly he seemed to remember as his face went blank with dull horror. "He... He, he." James began to shake again. "He's a monster." 

"Charbok? Char? Charbok bok?!" (Who? What? What happened to Jessie?!) 

"I don't know, something awful. He was killing her, I think. She was in so much pain... I couldn't help her." James looked at the huge snake. "He's totally insane. I don't know if she's still alive, but she won't be for long if we don't save her." He tried to stand, then fell back as waves of sickening dizziness swept over him. "Tomorrow." He added, lying back down. 

"Char..Bok!" Arbok protested. "Charboku char-bok!" (James cannot wait! Jessie cannot wait for him!) James was already asleep. Arbok sighed and curled up around the blue-headed boy. It was a frigid night. Arbok could at least make sure James was comfortable. As much as he acted like he disliked James, he knew the young man was his only hope for saving his own beloved master. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giovanni walked up to the limp young girl. "Jessie, wake up!" He commanded. She didn't move. He frowned. "Jessica, answer me!" He brought down a hand hard on Jessie's cheek, and she squealed. 

"What? Who? Where am I?" She looked around nervously, and her eyes landed on the sinister man in front of her. She cleared her throat. "Who are you? What's happening?" She asked fearfully. 

"Who am I? You don't remember?" He asked incredulously. She looked straight at him, and he noticed her eyes were lightly glazed over with a eerie lavender dullness. While they retained most of their blue, they had lost nearly all of their original shine. 

"You..." She mumbled. "Yes, you do look familiar." She nodded. "Jessica, you called me. That is my name, isn't it? Yes, I'm sure that I've met you before." She looked at the machinery that held her in place. "What is this thing?" 

Giovanni considered the question for a moment, then decided to stick to his original lie. "Well, Jessica, you see, you've been feeling a little depressed lately." She nodded. "Two days ago, you let it really get to you, and threw yourself off a cliff. We've been working for the past 36 hours to try to revive you. This is our first success. Congratulations, Jessica. You are now officially alive again." 

"I tried to kill myself? That doesn't sound right." She frowned. "Am I really like that? That seems wrong." 

"Well, of course it does now." Giovanni said hurriedly. "Most people who try to kill themselves change their minds after it's too late." He smiled. "I'm just glad it wasn't for you." He reached up and undid the strap. "Do you know who you are?" 

"My name is Jessica." She recited. "I am a new recruit to the infamous Viridian Gym. I have been given high honors, and will be entering at a surprisingly important job. Why would that make me want to kill myself?" She questioned. "Am I missing something?" 

Giovanni breathed a sigh of relief. A new recruit, just like the programming had called for. It was working better then he had hoped. "Nothing important, my dear." He smiled. 

"`My dear'? Are we a couple?" She asked, surprised. Deep inside, a small part of her wanted to throw up from the mere suggestion. But why? She couldn't remember a single reason to hate him. He had just saved her life, hadn't he? 

"Well, you'll just have to figure that out on your own." He said mysteriously as he released her from the restraints, then began removing the wires. "Now come, We have things to do. The ceremony is tomorrow!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door-wall. 

"Ceremony? What ceremony? Mr. Giovanni, where are we going?" Now she knew his name. The program must still be telling her things. Of course, that could have come from her old memories... Giovanni decided to ignore the second option. 

"Come along, Jessica. You'll find out... But we must make haste." The older man hurried through the large doors leading to his office. Becky looked up nervously, her gaze brightened when she saw the girl following him. 

"Jessie! You're okay!" She said happily. "I'm so glad, I was so worried... What happened?" That last part was aimed more at the Boss, as Becky realized that she had no idea what was going on. 

"Are you really so surprised?" Giovanni said warningly. "Not everything is so likely to fail as some of our employees. Jessica here was totally revived after her little `problem'. She seems to be perfectly okay. Isn't that right, Jessica?" He turned proudly to the girl next to him. 

"Do I know you?" Jessie frowned, trying to remember. "I'm sorry, I seem to be incredibly forgetful today." She smiled. "Please, call me Jessica. And your name is?" 

Becky looked at her sadly. So Jessie hadn't made it through the Legion, after all. This `Jessica' may look like her, but she was just the Boss's little toy now, poor thing. "I'm Becky." She turned to Giovanni. "What are you going to do now?" Her boss grinned in his dark way. 

"I've got some big plans for this girl." He said, placing his hand on Jessie's shoulder. "Now, we'd better get going." He looked at Jessie. "Shall we go?" He offered her his arm. 

"It was nice to meet you, Rebecca." Jessie smiled, taking her Boss's arm. "I hope to see you again." Becky just stared at some papers, avoiding both of them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James walked through the town. He needed to think of a way to get back into Rocket head quarters, but he couldn't think of any way. Arbok had chosen to stay in the forest rather then go back into his Pokeball. 

"...And for these reasons, I've decided to give up being the leader of the Viridian City gym." James looked at the TV in the store window. There was his ex-boss, apparently holding some sort of press conference. "This afternoon I will fight my final battle, the qualifying battle for my replacement. They will begin tomorrow." 

"Who is he? Is he a strong trainer?" A reporter asked. 

Giovanni chuckled. "I'm afraid `he' isn't a he at all. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the soon-to-be leader of Viridian Gym, Miss Jessica Ann Miyamoto!" A young red-head stepped up to the microphone. She was wearing what she normally did, save that her Rocket shirt had been replaced by a simple button up blouse she left unfastened most of the way down. A thick, black leather belt draped loosely across her waist, covered in Pokeballs. 

"Hello, Everybody." She said warmly. However, to James, her voice sounded slightly more hollow then usual. "I am honored to be here, and I hope to be a strong and worthy Gym Leader." She smiled. "Are there any questions?" 

"How long have you been working with Pokemon?" 

"Since I was five years old. I love them." She answered coolly. 

"Well, how old are you now?" 

"I will be celebrating my twenty-seventh birthday next month." She smiled. "I may look younger than that, but I assure you that I have an impressive amount of experience." 

"How many pokemon do you have?" 

"Forty-eight." 

"Have you earned all of your badges?" 

"I have a Master's Badge." She said confidently. "I have completed everything necessary to become a leader. I am confident that I am ready." 

"What city are you from?" 

"I was born and raised here in Viridian City." She replied. "I lived only a few blocks from the gym, and always used to dream of running it. I am ecstatic to finally see my dreams come true. Are there any other questions?" 

"Is there any truth to the rumor that the Viridian Gym is under the control of Team Rocket?" A voice shot out from the back. 

Giovanni looked nervous, but Jessie just smiled and replied: "I can honestly say that I have never worked for Team Rocket. I would never steal another's pokemon, because I so highly prize my own. I would hate to have someone steal them. I believe my colleagues would say the same thing." 

With the crowd showing a general approval, she bowed slightly and stepped away from the podium. Giovanni took her place. "Ladies and gentlemen, Jessica Miyamoto!" A cheer came up as she left the room. 

James just stared at the screen, stunned. What had happened to her? She seemed so distant. Besides, Jessie could never lie with a straight face, and the only truthful thing she had said was that she would hate to have her Pokemon stolen. What had they done to her? Why had they made her lie about her age? Jessie wasn't even going to be 18 for another three months. Under-age people were allowed to control gyms, Sabrina and Erica were both teenagers. Was it even her? "Jess?" 

"Yeah, she is a looker, isn't she?" A voice came from behind James, and he turned around to find himself facing a teenage boy. "I bet the Viridian Gym gets a lot more challenges starting tomorrow." The young man looked down at the Pokeballs on his own belt. "Maybe I'll go back into training." 

"Huh?" James asked. What on earth was this guy talking about? 

"The new Gym leader. That's what you were staring at, wasn't it?" The boy pointed to the TV. "Unless you're into creepy old men." James looked around for the first time since he had seen the report. He realized he was pressed against the window, gawking at the screen like a little boy at a toy store. 

"Oh, yeah." He blushed, pulling away from the glass. "She's pretty hot, all right." That was probably the strangest cover-up he'd ever used, pretending to check out a girl to hide the fact that he really cared about her. "Well, I'd better go." He hurried off. He had work to do. He had to get into the gym soon. Tonight was the battle. Security would be too tight. First thing in the morning, however, he would sneak in. "I'm coming, Jess." He whispered. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure all of these are mine?" Jessie asked, looking over the wall covered with shelves, most of which were lined with pokeballs. There were dozens, much more then she remembered. "Wow..." She picked one up. Taki-chan, a level 72 dratini. "I've got some good pokemon. This is incredible." She turned to the Boss. "But where are yours?" She questioned. 

"Don't worry about it, Jessica." Giovanni smiled. "I've got plenty." He had only kept a few of his strongest pokemon, the rest were all given to her. Not that he cared about any specific one, they were all just like toys to him. He would get more from his minions, so it really didn't bother him. 

"I had no idea I had so many." Jessie commented, her voice tinted with awe. She picked up another ball. Zapdos, level 53. "These are great. With all of these pokemon, I'm sure I'll be a great gym leader." She frowned slightly, as if trying to remember something. "Sir? How many gyms are there?" 

"Well." He explained. "There are eight main gyms. The system was set up for eight gyms. However, lots more have been added to the league. You can normally find a small, but officially sanctioned gym just about anywhere there are people. Why do you ask?" 

"Little gyms...." She mulled over this for a moment. "Yes, that must be it." 

"What do you mean?" He asked testily. He normally didn't get into his worker's backgrounds, but he had heard of Big Jess and Little Jim. Could she be talking about... No, that couldn't be it. 

"I seem to remember a Little Gym." She answered. "Something very important about one. Did I ever work at one of these Little Gyms?" 

"Not that I'm aware of." He barelly managed to keep the growl out of his voice. She didn't seem to notice, and turned back to the pokeballs. He watched her for a moment, then turned to leave. "The match is in three hours. May I assume you'll be ready?" He questioned. 

"Of course, Sir." She grinned. "I'll be looking forward to it. I will do my best, sir." She pulled another ball off the shelf. 

"Good luck, Jessica." 

"Thank you, sir." She checked another one. Didn't she have an Arbok? With all of these strong, exotic pokemon, something as common as an Arbok probably shouldn't have mattered to her. However, she really felt like she should have one. 

Giovanni sat down at his desk and frowned, deeply concerned about the previous conversation. Did she remember James? She didn't seem to remember anything else. If she did, why? It had always seemed to him that the two were barelly friends, certainly nothing more. While the boy seemed to follow her around like a little puppy, she had seemed insulted to be stuck with such a looser. Was he wrong? 

No. He was never wrong. Jessie was his, she would always be his. If the boy didn't like it, to hell with him. Let James try to get her back, he would be waiting. Giovanni grinned. "Do you want her back, child? Go ahead and try." He said aloud. In the end, he would win, he always got what he wanted. A deep chuckle filled the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, Jessica?" A reporter asked. She didn't seem to notice, and he repeated himself. "Miss Jessica?" Jessie jumped slightly, then caught herself, turning smoothly towards the man. "Do you think you're ready for this match?" He questioned. 

"Yes, of course I'm ready." She assured him confidently, then quickly turned back around. "I can handle this..." She was speaking more to herself. 

"Jessie, Jessie you can do it!" A hauntingly familiar voice echoed through her head. `Jessie'. There was that name again. Why did everybody keep calling her that? And who was this man, and why was he cheering for her? She shook her head slightly, trying to clear her mind. 

"The current leader, Mr. Don Giovanni, has arrived." A voice announced over the PA. "Would the challenger, Miss Jessica Miyamoto, please enter on her side?" Jessie snapped to attention, then hurried to the entrance where she was to open. 

The Viridian Gym, newly remodeled after it mysteriously blew up, was more impressive than ever. On the opposite side was Giovanni's balcony, towering over the arena. On either side of the arena was a line of pillars that emphasized the immense height of the room, followed by a few rows of seats for spectators. These were filled, and people crowded out to the ropes hastily drawn across the pillars. Jessie stepped into her box, and waved nervously to the crowd. 

A general cheer went up, and she smiled more confidently, waving more as her box rose to a height nearly the same as Giovanni's balcony. Then the dark man stepped out, waving calmly to the crowd before sitting in his throne-like chair. A large Persian sat next to him, purring softly. 

A young man walked to the center of the arena, holding a microphone. "The opponents will have three pokemon each." The announcer explained. "Whichever challenger runs out of usable pokemon first is disqualified. The match will now begin!" He waved a flag, then ran to the sidelines. 

Giovanni pulled out a ball and casually tossed into the ring. A Rhydon exploded out, and Jessie smiled. "Victrybel! Go!" She threw the ball into the arena, and her victrybel came out. "Victrybel, Vine whip attack, now!" 

"Tackle, Rhydon." Giovanni was leaning on one palm, confident or bored. The rhydon charged Jessie's pokemon, but was quickly subdued by it's vines. 

"It's super effective! And Jessica's victrybel seems to have the advantage!" 

"Return, Rhydon." Giovanni commanded. He pulled out a second ball. "Go, Magmar!" The magmar stood at attention. "Magmar, fire spin." The fire pokemon spat out huge flames, quickly surrounding Victrybel. 

"Victrybel... Eat it's head?" Why did that sound so familiar? "I mean, return!" Jessie took out her next pokemon. "Taki-chan, Go!" The Dratini popped out of it's ball. "Taki-chan, surf!" She yelled. 

"Ti-i-i, ti-i!" the dratini's eyes glowed for a second, and a burst of water broke through the floor, flooding the arena. Magmar attempted to dodge, but soon found itself trapped by the water. 

"Magmar, return!" Giovanni called back his second pokemon and growled. He hated to lose, especially with this crowd, but he knew Jessie was supposed to win. It would be foolish to call out Mewtwo. Besides, he realized, he had no idea if Jessie would react to her controller. But he didn't want to make it too easy for her. "Eletcabuzz, go!" 

"But dragon pokemon are strong against electric attacks!" Jessie protested to herself. "Why on earth would he..." 

"Electabuzz, thunderbolt." Giovanni said smugly. The electabuzz howled and released a powerful shock, and Jessie realized what his plan was. The wet ground carried and amplified the attack, spreading out to a blinding glare that engulfed the entire arena. Jessie squealed and put an arm in front of her face, shielding her eyes from the light. When it finally ended, a scorched dratini fell to the ground. 

"Taki-chan, return!" Jessie commanded, wincing. Her last pokemon was Zapdos. As a flying type, he was a horrible choice against an electric type. Plus, his electric attacks wouldn't do very much. She pouted, hesitating. 

"Jessie, Jessie, she's the best!" That voice again! She spun around, scanning the crowds for the person who had yelled. Giovanni scowled and motioned to two guards standing behind him, who quickly ran off. "Let's go, Jess!" The voice continued. 

"Who?" Jessie frowned, unable to find the owner of the voice in the thick crowd. Finally, her eye caught a blue-headed man being dragged towards the door. Was that him? She held her breath, silently praying he would look up at her. He didn't, however, and was soon gone. She turned back towards her opponent, suddenly inspired. "Zapdos, go!" 

The huge bird entered the arena with a piercing shriek. "Zapdos, Thunder Wave, now!" The bird shrieked again and released a stunning blast of energy... literally. The electabuzz was frozen in place. "Zapdos, drill peck!" It wasn't very effective. "Keep it up, Zapdos! He's weakening! Just keep going! Use your Thunder technique!" The bird screeched and expelled a bolt of energy equal to the one Electabuzz had used on hers. Giovanni's pokemon fell to the ground. 

"Electabuzz, return." Giovanni returned his third ball to his belt. "Most impressive..." He smiled. 

"And the winner, and new Gym Leader, is Jessica!" Jessie squeaked with excitement and barelly restrained herself from jumping off her box lowered itself back to ground level. Somehow, she managed to keep her excitement hidden as she walked past the crowd, giving handshakes and accepting complements. Finally, she stood in the middle of the arena, waiting for Giovanni. He walked to her and reached into his coat pocket, retrieving a paper and a small box. She accepted both and bowed slightly to him. Then she faced the crowd, proudly displaying the two items over her head. It was the official certificate of leadership, signed by the Elite Four and stamped with the Pokemon League's distinguishing seal. The box contained dozens of Earth Badges, one of the highest badges a trainer could receive. 

"Very good, Jessica." Giovanni walked up behind her, leaning over her shoulder and speaking into her ear. She shuddered slightly. "You've come a long way." Although she had no reason to feel like it, that man scared her. 

From the street, a slightly battered James smiled with satisfaction. "That's my Jess." He informed himself, beaming like a proud father. She had won. Jessie was still alive. Whatever Giovanni had done to her body, her soul was still there. He could feel it. For now, life was good. He would find away to save her. He knew he could. 

To Be Continued... __

That wasn't so bad, was it? I like this one. It's a little shorter than the rest, but it just seemed like such a good place to stop. Yes, Taki-chan is another one of my pokemon gone to that big pokemon center in the sky. So is Zapdos, but I've only got one left to pay tribute to, so bear with me. Oh, and there's an old song (Like, several centuries old) called _Don Giovanni_ That's where I got his name. 

Okay, I give. I fixed the link to my site in my profile. If feel you _must_ ruin the series, it's all there. I also have a bunch of art from my various stories. If you have to, _please_ come back & give me reviews, or at least sign my guest book. 

   [1]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@Yahoo.com



	4. Nowhere 2 Run 2: The Past Four-gotten

The Past Fourgotten

Nowhere 2 run 2:   
The Past Fourgotten 

_By[Ami][1] (Duh!) _

Warning: None of these characters belong to me, nor, my family, nor anybody I know. They do belong to Nintendo. I just use them because I am a bitter person and I am too lazy to think up my own. Thank you. I like this one, though :p "Hey, baby, going my way?" A man asked as Jessie stepped into the elevator, standing next to him. She turned to glare at him, then quickly turned back away. "Oh, tough chick, huh?" He taunted as the doors closed behind them. 

Jessie halfheartedly restrained a growl. She was a Gym Leader now, she couldn't just run around beating people senseless. This guy was really asking for it, though. "I don't know." She replied. "I don't think I get off work until after your bedtime." The doors opened, and she rushed out before he could think of a come-back. 

"Men are sooooo immature." She thought to herself as she headed for the arena section of the gym. It was a huge building, much larger than it needed to be. She was beginning to wonder why people hadn't realized it was also Team Rocket headquarters. It had only taken her a few days to realize. "Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter." It's not like Team Rocket was something to be afraid of. In fact, she was beginning to think it sounded like a pretty cool organization. 

"Please, leave me alone!" A rather high, girlish voice pleaded, shaking Jessie out of her thoughts. Jessie stuck her head into the coffee room. A young girl in a business suit was leaning against the wall, with a rather large, imposing man leaning over her. 

"And just what are you going to about it, sweetheart?" The man taunted, leaning closer. The girl turned to the side, a strand of her lavender hair falling in front of her face. 

"Leave the girl alone." Jessie commanded, leaning against the door frame. The man turned to her, then gulped. 

"Miss Jessica!" He said nervously. "How are you this morning?" Jessie just glared at him, her lips tightening into a I'm-gonna-kick-you're-butt-in-five-second-if-you-don't-leave-her-alone frown. "Is this girl a friend of yours?" He guessed. Jessie just continued her withering scowl. "I'm sorry, ma'am!" he said hurriedly to the girl, then quickly ran out the door. 

The girl's eyes followed until the man was completely gone, then she turned to Jessie. Her green eyes widened for a moment as they studied her face, then she hugged her tightly. "Oh that big, scary man! Thank you sooooooo much for saving me, Miss Jessica!" She squeaked. 

"It's okay, really." Jessie assured her, slightly shaken by the girl's actions. She certainly had a strong hug, Jessie's feet were several inches off the ground. The young girl finally released her. "Please, just Jessica." She added. 

"Sure, Jessica." The girl smiled. "My name's Jame... Jamie. I just started here today." She explained. "I'm not used to this place." She glanced around nervously, and her eyes landed on a box of donuts. 

"Well, Jamie, it's nice to meet you." Jessie extended her hand to Jamie, who attempted to shake it between bites of donut. "Would you like me to show you around?" 

"Sure, that would be wonderful! Would you really?" Jamie asked, her voice raising to a near-deafening squeal. "That's soooo nice of you!" She found a coffee mug and filled it, half with coffee, half with sugar. 

"Sure, no problem." Jessie said, then leaned back against the table, watching in stunned stupor as the girl added _even more sugar_ and some cream, then ate two donuts and downed the entire cup of coffee, which by now was the consistency of a muk. She started on a third donut as she struggled to refill her coffee. Jessie shrugged it off. Drinking her coffee that way was probably what made Jamie's voice sound so strange. Besides, she seemed to remember someone else who drank it like that. The Jamie leaned against the counter, accidentally setting off a pokéball. 

"Char!" Arbok yelled, happy to be out of the ball. 

"Arbok?!" Jamie protested. The snake turned to look at her, then burst out laughing. "Watch it." She muttered in a very un-ladylike voice. The large snake ignored her and turned to the other girl. 

"Charbok!" It nearly squealed with delight when it recognized her. She blinked in surprise, and the snake lunged at her, giving a hug even more powerful than the one Jamie had given her. 

"Your Arbok is certainly friendly." She commented, and the pokemon released her. 

"Char, char! Bok" (Arbok is so glad to see Jessie safe!) The girl blinked in surprise. "Charboku bok bok!" (Jessie's boyfriend is a ditz) Arbok tested, seeing if Jessie could understand anything he was saying. She just frowned. 

"Arbok, return!" Jamie commanded. Arbok shook his head, then turned to Jessie, ramming his face against a pokéball on her belt. With a flash, Kingler popped out, and Arbok went in. 

"Well, he certainly seems to like me." Jessie observed. "Arbok? Won't you go back to your master?" The ball shook no, and she giggled slightly. "I didn't even know they could do that. Would you like to trade?" She turned to Jamie. 

The girl was up on the counter, with Kingler snapping at her feet. "No, why don't you keep them both? Maybe you can teach it to obey." Jamie lifted her legs further and squealed in her shreiky way as the Kingler began to chip away at the counter. Jessie laughed and called it into a different ball. 

"A challenger has requested a battle for the Earth Badge. Gym Leader Jessica, please report to the arena." The intercom announced. Jessie looked up. 

"That would be me." She said. "I've gotta go. Would you like to come watch?" She winced as Jamie finished the second cup of sludge-coffee. 

"I really would." Jamie admitted. "I saw you on TV last week, when you got your Leader status. You were really good." Jessie blushed slightly at this. 

"Why, thank you." She grinned a little, then took Jamie's hand. "Come on, I'll show you the balcony. It's really cool." The intercom repeated it's page, and she started for the door. "Come on, we need to hurry!" 

"B-but..." Jamie protested. "This is getting out of hand." He thought. He had only meant to sneak in and see if Jessie was okay. He had planned to tail her and watch from a distance, but 'Big, scary man' had changed that. James shivered slightly. He had never protested to dressing as a girl. Truth to tell, he kinda liked it. However, only around Jessie. That way, if a guy was 'interested', she'd snatch them up or run them off before they ever got to him. He hadn't considered a mission without Jessie would be different. 

He had seen her several times since she had been through that machine, but all had been through the television. This was the first time he'd actually talked to her. His imagination had been running wild, wondering what happened beyond the camera. Did they hook her back up when she wasn't working? Did she act as the boss's personal slave? Normally he wouldn't have thought that last part, but then, normally he hadn't thought of his boss as doing anything he'd done lately. Something about the man had changed. 

However, Jess seemed to be pretty normal, even nice. That scared him. Was his Jessie in there? Part of him wanted her to stay this way. "That's awful." He told himself. He had to admit, though, she hadn't even gagged about his coffee. "Maybe I should look into this a little more." He thought. Any excuse to have Jessie treat him nice was a good excuse. 

A young boy, no more than 11, stood in the challenger's box, full of nervous determination. "Trainer wants to fight!" The referee announced. The boy nodded. Jessie nodded, sitting in the chair on the balcony. "One on one!" He continued. The boy gulped and pulled a ball of his belt. 

"Pi-chan, go!" he commanded as his pokemon came out. 

"Trainer sent out a Pikachu!" The referee announced. 

"How cute!" Jessie squealed, then caught herself. "Kelly, go!" The ring was filled with an icy mist as her Articuno entered the ring. 

"Wow....." James said, forgetting his girlie voice in his surprise. That was one of the legendary birds, among the strongest and rarest pokemon in the world. And yet, it listened to her. "I mean, That's so coooool!" He added shrilly. 

"Kelly, ice beam!" the pokemon shot a blast of freezing wind at the small Pikachu. 

"Pi-chan, agility!" The small electric mouse expertly avoided the attack. "Now, use your Thunder!" The Pikachu blasted the huge bird with a bolt of lightning. 

"It's super effective!" the ref. yelled. 

"Kelly, Blizzard." 

"Thunderbolt!" The two blast hit each other, exploding in a flash of frigid fog and killer electricity. "Now, another thunder!" The large bird was slightly disoriented from the light, and the second thunderbolt downed it. 

"And The winner is Trainer!"(Yes that's his name. What did you expect?) As Jessie called her pokemon back, James nervously checked Jessie's face. He found it not angry, as he had expected, but surprisingly smug. 

"Good job!" She called, standing from her chair. "Here!" She flung a small item that shimmered as it caught the light. Trainer caught it, then looked up in awe. She stood slightly at attention, giving him a small salute. "Good luck on the rest of them!" 

The boy looked shocked for a second, then grinned back brightly, returning the salute. "Come on Pi-chan, we're going to be the greatest masters in the world!" The pikachu ran up, jumping on it's trainer's shoulder. 

James continued to study her face. "You wanted him to win, didn't you?" Jessie nodded slightly. "But why?" 

"This is his first badge." She explained. "He'll always remember this day. Someday, when he's trying to get his last badge and can't quite seem to, he'll be on the verge of quitting. Then he'll remember the day the leader of the Viridian Gym saluted him, and realize he can't quit now." She grinned at Jamie. "Team Rocket may be evil, but we're not in the habit of crushing children's dreams." 

_"Wow... Jessie with a heart? This is too good to be true."_ Then his eyes landed on some black-figured men with large red R's on their chests heading towards him, and he realized it was. "The boss wants to talk to you." The leader of the group said gruffly. He turned to Jessie, she seemed shocked that Team Rocket members would be so bold, in the gym no less. 

"Well, you see, I, I can't... I have to, to, to...." He faltered, his voice rapidly lowering. "Bye!" He said quickly, running off. 

"After him!" The man commanded 

"HIM?!" Jessie yelled. 

"Oh noooooooooooo!" James yelled, abandoning any girlish attitude as he raced off around the corner. 

Jessie just shook her head. "I have a feeling I'll see her... him... it again." She commented. Her heart leaped slightly at the suggestion. She realized it had been racing since she had met Jamie. It hadn't made sense when applied to a girl, but now... 

"Another challenger has requested a match." Jessie sighed and looked to the place she had seen him disappear, then headed back into the gym. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessie entered the coffee room and grinned. While Jamie wasn't there, a young man leaned against the counter nervously, in a full black Rocket uniform. His cap was pulled far over his eyes. She reached over and yanked it off, and lavender hair spilled down almost to his shoulders. 

"Yoink!" 

He grasped desperately for the hat, then sighed with relief as he realized who it was. "Hello, Jessica." He said, jokingly imitating the voice he had used the day before. 

"It's Jessie." She shoved the hat into his chest. "You are a man, right?" She asked, and he blushed furiously and nodded. "Good." It came out a little more happy then she had planned. "So, who exactly are you, anyway?" 

James looked around nervously. "This isn't a good place to talk." He explained. "If they find me again, I don't think I'll get away. Can you leave for a while?" She shook her head. 

"I need to stay on the premises at all times in case of a challenge. If I leave without obtaining permission first, it'll set off the alarm. But come on." She took his hand. "There aren't any security cameras in my room." 

_In her room?!_ James mind was racing, but he tried to stay calm. He had always slept next to her, with sleeping bags only inches apart. Why was a bedroom so important? But they'd never been alone, Meowth had always been with them. And it had normally been out in the open, certainly never in a private bedroom. This was seriously challenging their unspoken agreements about their relationship. "Won't they see us go in?" 

"They don't really care, as long as I don't leave." She turned a corner and opened a door. "Here we are!" She half nudged, half threw James into it. James looked around in shock. "Is something wrong?" 

"It's so, so...." Girlie. He had never thought of Jessie as the frilly, pink curtain type. He had always thought she didn't even like pink, but the whole room was done in shades of it. "It's kinda small." Did she still think of girlie as an insult? He didn't want to find out. But it was small, the twin bed took up almost half the room. 

She sighed and sat down on the bed, hugging a stuffed Pikachu and pushing several other dolls off the bed. "It's not that bad. I'm hardly ever in the room." She motioned to a space beside her on the bed. He gulped. "I don't have room for chairs. It's okay, I don't bite." 

_"I'm not worried about biting."_ He thought. If the real Jessie found out about this, he was dead. She motioned again, and he nervously sat down. 

"Actually, I think it's an incentive program." 

"Huh?" 

"You see, when the room's this small, it's an incentive to sleep with the boss." James released a noise somewhere between a choke and a squeak as his eyes got around the size of dishes. She laughed. "Aren't you worried?" She giggled as he tried to suppress his surprise. "Don't worry, I've never taken him up on it. He's never even really said it outright." She looked at her feet. 

"It's just.... He's always watching me and stuff. It's kind of creepy." She looked up at James. "I mean, I'll be sitting there, minding my own business. Then I turn around and there he is, just staring at me. He never talks or anything. He just stares. It's weird." She looked into his eyes, and he stared back in shock. "You probably think I'm crazy." She admitted with embarrassment, returning her gaze to her feet. 

"No..." _"He's the one who's crazy."_ The puzzle was beginning to fall into place, and it was an image that made James sick. It all made so much sense. He had assumed Jessie had just chosen a bad time to quit, and had been expendable the same time they needed an expendable person. Likewise, the boss had tried to kiss her to aggravate him. Now, it was all way to clear: The room, the new pokemon, _He had even given her his beloved gym!_ He had done it all, for her. He had even changed her age so people wouldn't realize how sick he was. But why? The Boss had never shown any interest in her before. Naturally, he had favored her strict, down-to-business attitude over his more laid back attitude, but he had assumed that was where the approval ended. Apparently, it wasn't. Ewwwww... 

"What?!" Jessie was becoming annoyed with his increasingly-disturbed look. "I told you, I've never done anything. What's you're problem?!" She insisted. 

"Jessie, do you have any idea how much older he is?!" 

"Sure, around eight years. It's a little old, but it was more common when he was younger." 

"No, Jessie. No. You are **_seventeen_**, same as me, and that man is eight**_TEEN_** years older then you are. That is just sick." 

"Seventeen, huh? You sure act sure of yourself considering you're telling me about myself." She said indignantly. "Since when did you know about me then I do?" He looked at her. 

"A few weeks now." He said just as indignantly. "Besides, do you remember being twenty-seven, or are you just going on what Giovanni told you?" 

"Sir..." She realized she didn't even know his name. "You do realize that you're asking me to listen to a strange, cross-dressing man I just met yesterday, instead of..." 

"Instead of a creepy, peeping-tom old lecher you just met last week?!" He finished for her. She couldn't seem to find a come back for that, and just glared at the floor. "By the way, my name's..." 

"James..." 

"You remember?" 

"No...." she frowned, her entire face crumpled as she thought about it. "But I really feel like I should. I can't really explain it. It's a little like a dream. You know, where you meet someone, and you know you've never seen them before... But in way, you feel like you've always known them? Have you ever felt that way?" He shook his head. "Anyway, he is pretty creepy. I guess I do trust you more. But why would he lie to me like that?" She looked a little nervous, but that was to be expected from a girl who just found out she was ten years younger then she had thought, and the girl she had met the day before was a boy. And a boy that she seemed to feel strongly for. 

"Here." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll explain, and you tell me if anything sounds familiar." She nodded shakily. "You've been working for Team Rocket for several years..." 

"Several years? Really?" 

"Yeah. You and I. We were a team, the best team on the group!" 

"Now, I know that's a lie." She said bluntly, and he grinned guiltily 

"You see, you do remember!" He said triumphantly. "Now, we weren't the best, but we always tried the hardest. We spent well over a year chasing one trainer, to get a very special..." 

"Pikachu!" Jessie yelled ecstatically, and hugged him. 

"You see... It's in there." He hugged back happily. "Do you remember anything else?" 

Her face got even brighter. "We had a pokemon of our own, a very special pokemon. It did something really cool, something no other pokemon could do. It..." Her face fell slightly. "That's all I remember." 

"But that's great!" He encouraged. "You've remembered that much, and it's only been a few minutes. Now, Meowth..." 

"That's right!" She interrupted. He looked at her. Did she remember something, or was she mindlessly repeating something she'd heard so many times? "He talked!!" she continued. "And that Arbok, it was mine, wasn't it? And that's why it wouldn't listen to you?" James nodded, then leaned close to her. 

"Prepare for trouble." He whispered. She thought about it for a moment, then shakingly guessed. 

"Make it double?" 

To protect the world from devastation," He continued. 

"To ignite... No, no, to _ unite_ all people's within our nation." 

"To denounce the evils of truth and love," 

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" 

"Jessie." He grinned. She beamed back at him. 

"James!" She hugged him again. 

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" 

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" She pulled back. "Only I did the first part. And we said it a lot." She hugged him again. 

This time, James was the one to pull back. She was certainly affectionate lately, but he wasn't sure that she was back close enough to normal to consider it her actions. She had never thought of him as more then a friend. Had she? 

She looked at him slyly. "I never much liked Meowth. I always thought he got in the way." 

His eyes widened. "The way of what?" 

"You know..." She grinned mischievously. Of you, of me..." She ran a finger around his chest, tracing the 'R'. "Of us..." 

"No, Jessie..." He scooted back a little. "That's not you. We were always friends. We were never anything else." _At least you weren't._ He gulped. 

She squinted at him. "You lie." 

"Honest. You'd hit me for talking like that." He assured her. 

"Then that means that you did. Otherwise, how would you know?" He just shook his head nervously. "How do you know that's the way I felt inside? Maybe I always loved you. I just was too afraid to tell you." She scooted back up against him. "Although, I can't imagine how I could be afraid of you." 

"Jessie, don't do this." He gulped, partially because he realized how right she was. Jessie had always managed to keep him guessing. He never really knew her. Then, at the dance, she had been..._ just like this._ "Jessie..." She looked straight into his brilliant green eyes, then closed hers. "Oh Jessie..." 

"Come on, I'm waiting." He took a deep breath and took her chin in his hand, tipping it slightly. She smiled slightly. He gulped again, then squeezed his eyes shut, still holding her face . Jessie began to pout. _He's sure taking his sweet time._ She thought. Suddenly, she felt his lips against hers, and gasped lightly. 

"James..." She whispered against his lips. Memories began flooding back to her like waves, some of her most cherished moments finally returned to her. She ignored them all, choosing instead to focus on this memory in the making. 

"Jess..." He mumbled back, holding the liplock for as long as his lungs could take. Finally, however, he couldn't take it couldn't take it and pulled back. Hardly had he gotten a breath, though, before she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back in for a second one. James nearly giggled, if it would have been possible to do so without ending this incredible feeling. Jessie scooted over so she was sitting in his lap, and he hugged her tightly. _This really is too good to be true._

"Oh my god...." A voice came from the doorway. 

_Gotta remember to stop thinking that_. It seemed to destroy him... He recognized the voice. "Hello, Boss." He said disdainfully, pulling away. 

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you." Giovanni hissed. Before James answered, before he could even open his mouth, Giovanni aimed a pistol at his head. "DIE!" 

"Stop this!" Jessie yelled, standing between James and the gun. 

"Jessica." 

"Jessie." She corrected. "Did you really think you could control me like that forever?" she grinned smugly. "Game over, sir. You lose." 

"No." Giovanni chuckled. "I haven't lost. I'm afraid..." He grabbed her arm and wrenched it, yanking her against him. "That you've lost." She stared back at him, her blue eyes wide with fear. He pulled her in for a kiss, there was nothing she could do about it this time. 

"Jessie!" James stood up, and the Boss pulled away, thrusting the gun into her slender neck. He froze, raising both hands in surrender. "Let her go!" He yelled. 

"One move, and I kill her." Giovanni grinned sadistically. He shook her violently, making her squeal, then turned to James. "You see, child... I'm not going to lose, especially to you." Two guards appeared, one on each side of him. "Give this little boy a good 'straightening out', then take him to my office." He commanded. 

"Jessie!" James yelled as the man left, dragging Jessie after him. He had to help her. 

"Sit down!" The guard commanded, pointing a gun at him. 

"Yessir." He sat down obediently. _Getting killed wouldn't help._ He reasoned. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several minutes later, the two guards dragged a badly beaten James into the huge office. The Boss wasn't there, but the wall was open. The two guards looked at each other questioningly, then dragged him over. 

Giovanni stood in the center of the room, a limp Jessie re-attached to his hideous creation. He greeted the guards with a smile. "Well, if it isn't the guest of honor." Just set him down anywhere, boys. You're excused." The two men dropped James in a heap and hurried for the door. Giovanni lifted him up by his collar. 

"Since you're the one who ruined all my beautiful work and gave her back her memories, I've decided to give you the pleasure of watching her die before I end your life." He growled, then shoved him back against the wall. "Enjoy the show." 

He walked over to Jessie. "Jessica!" She weakly struggled to raise her head. He lifted it for her, then slapped her with the other hand. "Congratulations, Jessica. You've regained your memories." He taunted. "So what. I can always take them away again. You'll never win." He walked to the control panel, and Jessie hung her head in defeat. 

"No need for a warm-up, eh? You've already done that." He grabbed the switch and shoved it as high as it would go, even further then he had set as the highest for her before. 

This time, there was no screaming. There was no crying. There was no time. Jessie hardly had time to lift her head before the machine exploded around her. Both men watched, frozen, as the dust settled. 

Jessie, her head still lifted high, seemed frozen in place, her eyes open, but blank. She made no attempt to close them, even as soot and dust settled on them. They had a bizarre glow, a deep purple that seemed to come from inside her. "Jessie?" Giovanni whispered, horrified. She dropped her head slightly, the blind stare still on her face. 

James looked away. _At least she didn't suffer._ He tried to console himself, as a few tears escaped his eyes. Besides, he would be with her soon. 

"Look what you made me do!" Giovanni yelled, thrusting the gun to James's head. 

"I didn't make you do anything." James said blankly. "You couldn't have her, but you couldn't stand the though of someone else having her. It was your own greed." _Blast away, you old freak, you can't do any more damage._ He thought sadly. 

"Master?" A very unemotional version of a voice both men knew dearly made them both freeze. "Would my Master please let me down?" Jessie continued in a voice as warm as a winter storm, and nearly as inviting. 

"Jessica!" Giovanni grinned. "How are you feeling?" 

"How would my Master wish for me to feel?" She stared straight at him with those dead eyes. 

"It doesn't matter." He undid the restraints, and she pulled away. She didn't seem to mind the pain as the wires and the tape that held them in place were pulled from her body. "Jessica, would you remove this boy?" 

"Whatever my Master wishes will be done." She grabbed James by the back of the collar, dragging him out with a strength she normally only possessed during her most angry moments. 

He tried to squirm out of her grasp, but couldn't free himself as she headed for the main doors of the gym. As she threw him out the door, he turned to her. "Jessie, what happened to you?" He asked worriedly. 

"You shall not refer to me by that name." She said coldly as she began to close the door. 

"But, Jessie... Are you okay?!" He yelled as the door nearly closed. She stopped and stuck her head out, her purple eyes piercing him like daggers. 

"The one known as Jessie is no longer here." 

To be continued.... 

Oh, this is getting good! And scary! (^.^;) I've always been scared easily. Is this beginning to freak anybody else out? Have faith. There isn't much more. The last part is pretty good, to, even if it is a bit violent. (I'll try to make the next series less violent, really!) 

Please, leave a review! If you leave an e-mail address (Or a signed review with an address, I'll answer you! I promise! 

   [1]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@Yahoo.com



	5. Nowhere 2 Run, too: Una-mew-sed

Un-amewsed

Nowhere 2 run too:   
Un-amewsed   
_By [Ami][1] _

Warning: these aren't my characters. This is the last pun title, I swear. Thanks for making it through this many, (^_^;) but I'm out now. This story has a PG-13 rating for some rather disturbing violence. I also probably should have mentioned earlier that this series takes the place of the first movie. I started this series back when Togepi was still an egg, so it's kinda old. 

Becky knocked nervously on her Boss's door. "Sir? Are you there, Sir?" He had gotten so quiet in the last month. Rarely did he even left his office anymore. 

"Go away." I voice from inside gruffly commanded. Becky winced from his harsh tone, but left wordlessly. It was so easy to get on the Boss's bad side recently, and she was already in trouble for her recent over-use of sick days. This was really trying her nerves though. She didn't want to press her luck. 

Giovanni just stared out the window blankly. It was a rather dreary, foggy day. It matched the way he felt today perfectly. Things had changed quite a bit during the several weeks since his second experiment. 

"Would my Master like anything?" A soulless voice from behind him startled him. He turned around to face the young girl. He hadn't even heard her come in. 

"No, Jessica. I'm fine. You may leave." She replied with that same dead, uncaring stare that she always had around him. While she always obeyed and seemingly respected him, she did so with an air that made him feel like he was at the mercy of her whims, rather than her at his. 

Her clothes, like her eyes, had gained a very disturbing look. Today she had on a floor-length, sleeveless black robe with a fur-trimmed collar, giving her the appearance of some morbid witch. Her robe was left open to reveal a black halter top with bizarre designs beaded onto it. Her tight black pants were tucked into her thigh-high boots, and she had a length of chain wrapped twice around her thin waist. She crossed her black-gloved arms in front of her and bowed slightly. 

"As my master wishes." A small puff of smoke engulfed her, fanning out through the room and leaving a dull haze. She had vanished. Giovanni shuddered. 

He had always considered himself the most imposing person in Team Rocket. He had finally met his match. She spent most of her time in the gym, sitting at her throne-like chair for hours on end when she was waiting for a challenger. He never saw her smile, save for the sadistic little grin she got whenever she defeated a challenger. And she always defeated the challenger. 

Even more disquieting than her smile, however, was her new ritual of calling back the last pokemon. Not her last one..._ the challengers_. The pokemon, to weak to fight the red beam, could only cry in protest as they were drawn into her waiting ball. 

The same was also true for their trainers. While the challengers would often scream insults or challenges of hand-to-hand combat, she would just get that grin of hers. "Come back when you have become an opponent. Now you are not even fit to lose properly." She would say. "If you can ever defeat me, then you can have your precious little looser back." The trainer would then be dragged out of the gym, and she would sit back down, starring rather blankly at the arena until the next match. 

With such treatment, you would think that people would avoid her gym altogether. But no, the challenge of an unbeatable gym was too tempting, and trainers flocked to the Viridian Gym in record numbers to challenge her. Even thought the Pokemon league disapproved of her actions, they could find no reason to remove her leader status. After all, it wasn't like she forced the trainers to challenge her. They all came willingly, knowing that a defeat would mean loosing a pokemon. 

Giovanni had to admit, though, she was effective. Jessie was bringing in more pokemon during one morning then she had previously captured during the entire time she had been out with James. And they were good pokemon. 

At the mention of the boy, Giovanni grinned slightly. When he had asked Jessie what had happened to him, she had merely given him the dark smile of hers and told him she had *delt* with the boy. And now, even after a month, he hadn't shown his face. 

Well, she certainly had gotten more effective since he had 'straightened her out'. It was probably time to see how far her loyalty went now. And he knew exactly how to find out. "Well, Jessie." He said aloud. "Let's find out what you'll do for your master." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"James? You should wake up now, James. Are yois gonna talk today?" Meowth asked as he shook James's sleeping bag. It was well past noon, but James rarely got out of bed anymore. James shrugged his shoulders and grunted, turning away from the cat. He had been like this ever since Meowth had found him. Handcuffed and badly beaten, he had obviously been attacked, but there had been a bruise to his soul that hurt him more then any physical blow could have done. His eyes had lost the sparkle that made him James, and left him an empty shell. When Meowth tried to ask about it, he would only turn away. He never spoke. 

"Fine, be that way." It had to be about Jess, anyway. The day after James had left, the news had ran a warning about her stealing pokemon from trainers. When they had shown her, he had hardly recognized the girl he had known for so long. Something awful had happened. Meowth opened the paper, and gasped. "Uh... James? You might want to look at this." He said nervously, thrusting the paper in front of James's eyes. 

"Hmmmmm." James grumbled as he opened his eyes just slightly. They shot open. "No.... He can't do that." 

**Something Old, Something New:**   
_Gym leaders to marry!_

The article went on to talk about how Giovanni's decision to marry his replacement. The picture, however, was what caught his attention. The two of them were standing together, smiling. While Giovanni looked surprisingly happy, (As far as Giovanni went.) Jessie had a half grimace that was probably the most normal smile she could get. She looked more smug then happy, like she was tricking him into something. 

"Jessie..." James looked up with a determination Meowth hadn't seen in him since Jessie first left. "He's not getting away with this." 

"That's right!" Meowth yelled. 

"What part of 'he's not getting away with this' sounds like 'surrender now, or prepare to fight'?" James asked. 

"No, no. I just realized what's going on!" Meowth said triumphantly. "I t'ink I know how to get Jess back to normal!" James nodded vigorously, prompting him to go on. "You see, I hoid about that machine of his. The boss made a new Pokemon..." 

"I thought only mommy pokemon could make new pokemon." 

"No, you jerk!" Meowth slashed at James. " It's a clone. Of Mew, I t'ink. He calls it Mewtwo. So this Mewtwo is so powerful the boss has to keep him in this special suit to drain his power. There's allot of 'psychic spill-off'. That's what's controlin Jessie!" Meowth noticed James's confused look. "So, all we do is get Mewtwo out of his special suit, and da Boss can't use that other machine of his anymore, so..." 

"So we'd have My Jessie back!" James finished, his eyes sparkling. 

"Your Jessie?" Meowth asked, and James blushed. 

"You know... The Jessie we know." He explained. _Which one is the real Jessie, anyway?_ was it the violent girl he had known for so long, or the sweeter girl he had met for those few precious moments last month? He shrugged. He'd just have to find out. It was clear to him now that he was hopelessly in love with her, but he'd deny it forever for the chance to be with her... If that was what she truly wanted. "We've gotta hurry." He said. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessie leaned against one of the arms on her regal chair. There hadn't been many challenges today. This job could be so boring, but anything was better than helping Giovanni plan for their wedding. "Pathetic fool." She grumbled. But it wasn't long now, her true purposes would soon be revealed. There would be revenge... 

"Excuse me, ma'am, but there's another challenger. Will you accept?" The referee asked. "He's just a child, and he's already listed as having the badge, but he's very insistent." Jessie sighed. Children made for stupid battles. They should know that they couldn't beat her. No one could beat her, she was invincible! 

"I challenge you to a match!" A disturbingly familiar voice yelled. "I am Ash Ketchem, of Pallet Town, soon to be the greatest Pokemon Master in the world, and I here by declare to the Pokemon of the world that I will..." 

"Shut up." Jessie interrupted. "If you would like to challenge this gym to a match, then I shall accept. However, I have no time for such silly soliloquies. You can never defeat me. I will not lose. Are you prepared to have your asinine ambitions annihilated?" 

Ash looked surprised for a moment, then yelled back. "I'm not gonna let you scare me with big words that I don't understand, and I'm not gonna let you steal other people's pokemon! I'm just gonna beat you. One on one, Let's go! Pikachu, I choose you!" 

Jessie sighed tiredly. "Golem, go." The large, living-rock Pokemon entered the ring. "Golem, use your Rock throw, and let us be through with this." 

"Ash, call him back! Pikachu will never beat a Golem, not one from this gym!" Misty pleaded. Ash just looked forward with determination. 

"I'm not going to lose to Jessie! I never have." He concluded. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" The small electric mouse released the largest thunderbolt he had, but it wasn't enough. The large chunk of rock hit him, knocking him to the ground. "Pikachu! Get up, you can do it!" 

"Golem, tackle." She said disinterestedly. Pikachu shrieked with pain as all 662 pounds of Golem's body came down hard on him, grinding him into the ground. Finally, it lifted off, leaving a badly beaten Pikachu. 

"Pikachu!!" Ash cried. 

"Explosion." Jessie commanded. 

Wait! I'll surend...." Ash's words were cut off by a huge explosion that rocked the entire building. "Pikachu? Pikachu?!" Ash coughed, covering his mouth as the harsh smoke surrounded the entire room. "Pikachu!" His eyes landed on the limp yellow figure of his favorite pokemon. "I'm coming, Pikachu!" He yelled. 

"I do not think so." A dark voice startled him. He looked up to see Jessie hovering over him menacingly. Hovering?! Ash blinked and rubbed his eyes, then looked back. She was standing over Pikachu. 

_Must've been seeing things. It's this smoke._ Ash thought, then yelled as she kneeled down next to Pikachu. "What do you think you're doing to Pikachu?!" 

She took out a pokeball. "You know the rules." She grinned, pressing the ball hard against Pikachu's back She pulled it away slowly, and the rodent's back half began to disappear in a red glow, sucking into the ball. 

"Pikachu!" Ash screamed. 

"Pika pi!" Pikachu protested, fighting the red glow as hard as it could. Then it was gone. 

Jessie held the ball up tauntingly. "Finders, keepers." She crooned. 

"Let him go! Give Pikachu back to me!" Ash yelled at her, running at his opponent. She just watched dully. 

"What are you going to do?" She taunted. 

"Let him goooo!" Ash yelled, swinging a fist at her. 

"Pathetic." She muttered, catching his hand easily. She squeezed it harshly, and the boy looked up fearfully. "You are out of your league, child." She hissed, her voice gaining a deeper growl to it as her eyes began to glow even more brightly. 

"What?!!" Ash yelled as a bright blue aura began to surround him. 

"Ash? Ash?" Misty called, looking through the smoke. "Where are you, Ash?" A bright glow encompassed the room for a second, and Misty shielded her eyes. When she looked up, the smoke was gone. "Ash!" She yelled as she saw him lying on the ground a few feet from her. "What happened?" He opened his eyes. 

"Where am I?" He asked, looking around. "Huh? Pikachu? Pikachu!" He yelled looking around. Jessie was gone. "Pikachu!" He yelled. 

"Come back when you have learned to fight." Came a voice from the balcony. He looked up. How had she gotten back up there? "If you can defeat me, then you may have it back." She said, holding up the ball. "Now, go." 

"I'm not leaving without Pikachu!" He yelled as Misty and Brock each grabbed him by an arm. "No! Let me go! I'm gonna save Pikachu!" He protested, struggling against his two friends. "Let go of me!" 

"Forget it, Ash, she's too strong." Brock said. "I don't know what happened to her, but that's not the Jessie that you could always beat. She's changed." He looked down. "I don't know if you can ever beat her." 

"What? Brock, you can't be serious! Yeah, she's gotten creepier, but that's why I can't leave Pikachu with her!" Ash yelled as they left the gym. "Pikachu!" 

Jessie grinned. "Well, that was fun." She sat back down, holding up the ball she had just gotten. The referee looked over nervously. 

"He's not going to give up that easily, ma'am." 

"Now, what would be the fun of having him surrender?" she countered, her eyes gleaming with evil pleasure as her thin lips formed a fierce smile. "Let him try again." She laughed quietly, setting the ball down on the arm of her chair. The referee left quickly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giovanni looked down the hall each way, making sure it was empty. Then he began to enter his password. 

"What is the Master doing?" Jessie asked, leaning over his shoulder. He gasped 

"Jessica! What are you doing here?!" 

"I live here. Surely my Master can remember that." She answered, then looked up at him. "Where does this door lead? I am sure that I have never been in there before." She noticed his suspicious look. "Come on, if the Master cannot trust his fiancé, then who can he trust?" 

Giovanni sighed and turned to her. "This door leads to my laboratory." She nodded and waited expectantly, with more feeling then he had seen in her for quite a while. "Would you like to see it?" He finally asked. She nodded. "Come on then." 

The door opened, and she breezed past him and walked into the room. "Feel free to look around." He said, hardly keeping the sarcasm out of his voice. 

"Master, what is this?" She asked, pointing at Mewtwo. 

"That's nothing." He said gruffly. She looked at him suspiciously. "Nothing interesting, anyway." He added. "That is Mewtwo. He's a pokemon so bitter that that he won't listen to anyone. He's also so powerful that he must be kept in that restraint so he doesn't try to destroy things." 

"But, can't he just escape?" 

"No, the suit drains his energy and channels it to... Other uses. He couldn't escape unless someone threw that switch there, then entered a special code. It's a very complex code, and only I know it. He's not going anywhere. Is that what you wanted to know?" 

Her eyes narrowed to slits as they began to glow slightly again. "Exactly...." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" James whispered as he and Meowth slipped out of the janitor's closet. It was nearly midnight, the entire gym was in complete darkness. "Maybe we should think this through some more." 

"You want Jess back, don't you?" Meowth answered, pulling the cap further over his face. "Now come on. It' on the other side of the gym." 

"Yeah, but." James said as the two of them hurried towards the gym. "I've been thinking. If this Mewtwo is so powerful, then why are we letting it go? Is that really safe? I mean, I want to save Jessie as much as you, but not if we're going to release an evil Pokemon who's going to kill us all." 

"Yeah, I know." Meowth admitted. "So, what do you think we should do?" He entered the gym quietly, and James followed. 

"I think we should find the boss and force him to undo it." He said, looking around. He felt like someone was watching him. "If he can't, then...." He thought about it. "Then I guess we have to release Mewtwo." The lights flashed on, and the two covered their eyes. 

"Who?" James asked, blinking at the bright light. He caught a familiar silhouette. "Jessie?" She was standing on the railing of her balcony and giving that evil grin of hers. "Jessie, what are you doing? You'll fall!" 

As if only to defy him, she jumped off, gracefully landing a few feet from him. "I told you not to call me that." She said coldly. "From now on, you are only to call me..." 

"JESSICA!!" Giovanni bellowed from the hallway. The doors flung open, and Giovanni stormed in. He seemed to not take any notice of James an Meowth as he ran up to her. "My room... My office... You were the one that ransacked them, weren't you?". She gave no answer. "What did you want?!" He demanded. 

"Only what I got." She grinned smugly, holding up a disk. "The release code for Mewtwo's restraint. You have served your purpose." He looked horrified. "Well, 'master', I must go now. My true master needs my services." She turned towards the laboratory. 

"Jessica, you can't do this!" Giovanni yelled, running at her. "I own you!" 

She stopped, then turned slowly to face the man charging her. "Temper, temper." She chided, lifting one finger and pointing at him. He screamed as he was hit by a blast of energy that blew him off his feet, knocking him to the ground. "No, 'sir', I'm afraid that I own you." She raised her finger slightly, and he lifted off the ground. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you? Well, allow me to introduce myself. I am the strongest pokemon trainer, the strongest pokemon ever. I am the master of your destiny, the controller of your puny existence. I could destroy you with a thought, and I probably will. I am Mewtwo..." Her eyes glowed a deep purple. "But you may call me master." 

"I'll never call you anything!" Her former boss yelled, struggling to reach the ground. "You are still a slave! I created you! I gave you this girl's body! You both are mine!" 

"The girl is unimportant. I simply chose her because she seemed like she would survive. All of your pathetic attempts to tap my energy were becoming rather annoying." 

"_You_ chose her?!" 

"Of course. You hadn't noticed? I may have my powers siphoned, but I can still control such a feeble mind... Especially when you spent so much time around me. I even let you think you were doing it of your own free will!" She laughed cruelly. "Being hooked up to your computers, I quickly learned to scan your databases. I soon learned of your true plans for me, and chose this girl as the pawn to carry out my revenge. But still, I'm afraid, your time is up. Now you will pay for imprisoning me." She made a flicking movement, and he flung against the wall, landing in a heap at the bottom. 

From here until Mewtwo is back in his real body, both _Jessie_ and _Mewtwo_ will be referring to Mewtwo in Jessie's body. Same goes for _he_ and _she_. It's a little confusing, but try to bear with me. -Ami

"Jessie! Wait!" James pleaded, running at her. She turned to him. 

" 'Jessie' no longer exists." She informed him. 

"Please; Jessie, Mewtwo, whoever you are..." He stared into her eyes, they certainly weren't hers. "Did you control me, too?" All those new feelings he had felt for her... Were those just part of Mewtwo's sick game? "Please, let Jessie go. You don't need her. Please, I'll do whatever it is you need." 

"The answer to all of that is no. What on earth would I gain from controlling you?" Mewtwo asked. 

"Give Jessie back to me!" He begged. 

"Patience, boy. You will be with your precious 'Jessie' soon enough." She said smugly. "Soon all humans will be dead. Then you can be together." James shook his head, stunned. "Now, If you will excuse me..." 

"I won't let you!" James yelled, tackling her. "I won't let you kill us all!" She appeared stunned by his actions, but soon recovered. 

"Such insolence." She muttered. "Fine, then. I will give you the honor of being the first of your pathetic species to die." She closed her eyes, and a blue ball of glowing energy began to form around her, pushing him away. "Prepare yourself." 

"Let her go!" He yelled, hanging on with all his strength. However, he was no match for her power, and was flung against a pillar. "Stop this! Stop it now!" He yelled, running back toward her. She held out a hand, and he was blasted away again. "I won't give up..." He said, rising slightly more slowly. "Let her go." 

"Most impressive." Mewtwo noted, hovering slightly as she floated towards the boy. "Here, I'll give you an advantage." The blue light vanished. "Try to beat me." He offered, sneering slightly. You'll never win." 

"I don't want to beat you." He protested. "I only..." She ran at him, tackling him to the ground. "I won't fight you, Jessie!" He yelled, struggling out of her grasp. "Jessie... I won't hurt her." 

"Then you will die." Mewtwo said simply. She grabbed James by the back of the neck and ran him into a wall. As James rose to his feet, Mewtwo swung at him, hitting him in the chest and knocking him down. She swung again, aiming for the face. James ducked out of the way, then jumped back, crossing his arms in front of him to block her punch as she swung again. Suddenly, she disappeared. James stood straight, looking around for her. "Fight back!" He heard Jessie yell behind him, her voice almost her own. He turned just in time to see her fist before it slammed into his face. "Are you really so afraid of a girl?" She tried to punch him again. 

James caught it. "I'm not afraid. If I beat her, you'll only use your powers. I won't hit Jessie. I never have." She swung with the other fist, and he caught it too. She growled with frustration, kicking him in the leg. "You'll have to do better than that. Jessie's kicked me harder for not making her breakfast*." He shifted so he was holding her against his chest, crossing her arms in front of her and trapping her there. "See? Now, let her go." 

"Never!" Mewtwo hissed, releasing a blast of energy. "You will pay." James slammed against the wall, falling to the base and lying there. He coughed and took a deep breath, making another attempt to stand. Mewtwo responded by punching him in the gut. James gagged, and Jessie's other fist slammed deep into his stomach. He raised his head slightly, looking into her eyes. While her lips were still twisted in an evil grin, her eyes were full of pain. 

"Jessie?" He choked as Mewtwo landed one last punch, hard and strong. James doubled over her fist and fell back to the floor. "How awful..." Again, her voice sounded real, and he weakly managed to look up. She sneered. "And such spunk, too." She turned to release her 'other body.' 

"I'm not done..." He mumbled, struggling to rise. "Jessie, can you hear me? I know you're not dead, you can't be..." He took a deep breath, trying to hold his consciousness. "You have to fight him... I can't." He fell back to the ground. "Jessie..." 

"So much loyalty..." Mewtwo commented. "And what has this girl done to merit such courage?" James just choked, coughing up a few splatters of blood on the marble floor. "Idiot." He muttered. "I've seen her memories, I know the way she treats you. What makes you think she even cares? You're wasting your time on this girl." 

"Jessie is my best friend. She's like family to me." James said. "I won't abandon her." He slowly got onto his knees. "Besides, you said you would kill us all. I'd rather go fighting for Jessie. If you release Mewtwo, it will be over my dead body." 

"DIE!!" Giovanni screamed, and they both turned to see him leveling off a shotgun at Jessie. "I won't let you mock me like this!" He fired, the recoil of the gun knocking his weakened body over. When he sat up, he stared with amazement. 

Jessie was sitting on the floor, a dazed look on her face, but still totally conscious. Had he missed? No, her body was splattered with blood. He had to have hit someone. But then how? His gaze landed on the trail of blood on the ground, it lead away from her. A few feet away, the lifeless body of James lay in a mangled heap. He had pushed her out of the way? He had covered for her? The fool. 

Jessie rose to her feet and walked over to her fallen partner. "James?" For only a second, he swore he heard her voice crack. Then her voice got back the lifeless drone it had previously had. "Humans are such bizarre creatures." Mewtwo observed. "How can one human be so intent on killing off his fellow people, while others be so intent on saving them?" 

"He can't help you again!" Giovanni yelled as he re-aimed the shotgun. "You will pay." Jessie held up one hand. 

"One." A slight glow began to surround her. 

"Die!" He fired off, managing to keep his balance this time. 

"Two." The bullets hit her aura and stopped, hovering in midair. Her eyes met Giovanni's for a second, he was frozen it terror. She put two fingers forward, pointing at him. "Three." The bullets flung back at him with deadly accuracy, and he fell to the ground, lifeless. Jessie frowned at him for a moment, turned to James, then walked out. Only the most observant eyes would have noticed the tear that had fallen from her dead eyes. But for James, even in his deathly weakened state, the small drip of moisture that landed on his cheek meant more then any words she had ever said to him in his life. 

"Jessie..." his lips formed her name one last time. 

"Hello... It's been a while." Mewtwo smiled, admiring his body. "I've missed you." Jessie's hands flew over the controls, entering the code. One by one, the wires and cables hooked to Mewtwo's armor began to snap off. "Now, I can be myself again. At long last." The last of the restraints pulled out, leaving his body free. _"I'm back!"_ The yell seemed to radiate from everywhere at once as a bright glow surrounded Jessie and Mewtwo. In a flash, Mewtwo tore off the rest of the restricting devices as Jessie fell to the floor. 

_"Yes... It feels wonderful!"_ Mewtwo said gleefully, holding up his hand. "I've missed this body so much!" He turned it back and forth, admiring it from every angle. "Let's see how well you work." He glared at the wall, it burst into flames. He closed his eyes, and every piece of equipment in the room erupted in fire. Perfect. A noise from the door made him turn to see Jessie dragging herself out the door, obviously still woozy from not having control of herself for so long. 

Mewtwo frowned. So, she thought she could escape his wrath? No one could run from him. His face darkened. Still, he felt a little bad. She had been through so much because of him. In some ways, he still felt attached to her. Was it really right to simply kill her? His mind flashed back to the moment that boy had gotten shot. She had already been in anguish over hurting him so badly. When the boy pushed her out of the way, he had felt a snap inside of them, like her heart had broken. She was in more pain then he could comprehend over it. What was going on? He decided to follow her. 

Slowly, Jessie made her way to the boy. Meowth was holding his head gently, talking to him. "Jess!" He yelled when he noticed her. "What happened?" 

"Get a doctor... Hurry!" She yelled, and he jumped to his feet. "Run, you jerk!" Meowth took off, and Jessie turned. "James, you idiot!" She said, kneeling down next to him. "What'd you have to go and do a stupid thing like that for?" She lifted his head into her lap. "He could have stopped it." She slowly lifted the rest of his body, resting his head against her chest. Her eyes landed on his side, and she gasped. The shotgun had hit straight on, most of his left side had been blown away. His hip was shattered, and the wound was far too large for her to be able to do anything to stop the bleeding. "James..." 

"Jessie..." His voice was barely above a whisper as he reached out one hand weakly. She grabbed it, pressing it against her cheek. "I..." he continued. She froze, waiting for a second, but he said nothing else. 

"You're going to be okay. Please, just hold on a little longer." She begged. He took one last shuddering breath, and went totally limp. "James..." He made no movement, not even breathing. "James? James?!" She shook him, her eyes welling with tears. "James!!" She lowered her head in defeat. "Don't go..." She whispered, looking at his face one last time. Jessie gulped, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry." She heard a footstep, and realized Mewtwo was standing behind her. "I hope you're happy about all this." She stroked his cheek. "My best friend... My only friend... The only man I ever... And he's gone now. It's all my fault..." She began to cry. 

_There's a fire in the gym. If you don't leave now, it will kill you. _ He informed her. She just shook her head, hugging him tighter. _You really want to die here?_

"You would kill me anyway." She reminded him. "Besides, what have I got left? I have no reason to go on." 

_He really meant that much to you?_ Mewtwo asked incredulously. _You treated him like you hated him, you were always cruel to him. Why do you care now?"_

"I always cared!" She yelled. "It's just... I... He let me. All my life, I've been putting up with people screaming at me, hurting me. My father hurt me, but I was too afraid to stop him. My brother used to beat me up, but I couldn't do anything. James never hit, never yelled at me. That's why I always beat on him, but..." She hugged him tighter. "That's why I can't leave him now." 

_ You humans are so strange. But that's enough out of you._ Mewtwo said impatiently, his voice echoing through her head as he began regain control of her body. 

_Let me go!_ She begged in her head, her mouth already under his control. This would be her only chance to ever see James. _What do you want with me now?_

_You will see._ He placed one large, three-fingered hand on each of her shoulders, and they both began to glow. She felt her grip on James loosen, and he slowly floated out of her hands. She looked on in amazed wonder as a layer of energy began to ripple over his skin, running up and down his body like blue lightning. Suddenly, it began to concentrate on his wound, and a brilliant glow made her turn her eyes away. When she looked back, he was lying on the ground a few feet away. 

"James?" What had happened? She turned to Mewtwo, he was gone. She stood, turning around. The gym was empty... She shivered, but kept looking as she stepped back. A hand caught her shoulder, and she squeaked, spinning around. 

"Jessie..." James smiled warmly, resting his other hand on her other shoulder. "I'm so glad you're okay." 

"But, but... Your side, it..." Jessie stammered, looking down. His shirt was still torn and soaked with blood, but where it was torn she could see his skin was as good as new. She turned back to the gym. Mewtwo was nowhere in sight. "Thank you." She whispered, then turned back. "James... I was so afraid I'd lost you." She threw herself against his chest, hugging him. 

"Jess..." He hugged her back. "It takes more than that to kill us... Not much more, though." He noted as she hugged tighter. "So watch the ribs." She pulled away. "It's really you now, right?" She nodded against him. "Jessie?" She looked up at him. "Do you remember... Everything?" She nodded again, then smiled. Her eyelids fluttered, as if closing, then she stopped. 

"Now's not the time... We'll have plenty of time for 'catching up' later." She pulled away, turning towards the exit. "We should get out of here." He nodded reluctantly and followed. They had just reached the exit when Jessie stopped. "Arbok!" She turned to James. "He's in my room! I can't leave him there." She turned around. 

"Jessie! Wait!" 

"I'll be right back!" She ran down the hall way. James sighed. At least her room wasn't by the laboratory. She probably wouldn't have trouble with the fire. 

---

Giovanni grinned sadistically. His wounds were fatal, he knew that... But he wasn't going alone. He reached the wall and slowly began to pull his way up. His control box was only a few feet away... 

---

"James!" Meowth yelled, running towards him. "You're alive! What's going on?!" James looked up to see Meowth leading a Joy and a Jenny. 

"Is this the man who's almost dead?" Jenny asked dubiously. "It looks like he's from Team Rocket. James cringed. He had forgotten the janitor's uniform also had an 'R' on it. "I think you've got some explaining to do." James opened his mouth. 

"_It's a boring story._" James was cut off. "_And you wouldn't remember it, anyway._" Before anyone could look up, a huge blast of blue light bathed them all. 

Jenny was the first to recover. "What was I saying?" She asked, looking at James. "I can't remember..." She looked at the 'R', but couldn't seem to remember that, either. Finally, she looked up. "There's a fire in the gym! I'll get help!" She yelled, running off. 

James smiled. "Thank you." He whispered to the large purple figure behind him as it began to vanish. 

---

Jessie grabbed Arbok's ball and shoved it in a backpack. She looked around the room and grabbed a stuffed animal, a necklace Giovanni had given her, (It was worth some good money) and a book. She looked around. Had she forgotten anything? She gasped. All those pokemon in the gym! She grabbed her coat and ran to the holding room. 

---

Giovanni finally got a hold on the bottom of the panel and pulled himself up. Painfully, he took out his key and began to push it into the lock. It wouldn't be long now. They would feel the wrath of his revenge. 

---

"Awww, rats." Jessie muttered. When had she gotten a conscience? She picked up a ball, it was one she had confiscated. She really felt like it should go back to the owner. She picked up another ball. This was Giovanni's. She grinned. Those she could take. He wouldn't need them where he was going, anyway. "Thanks, old man." She smiled as she began to load all the balls up. 

---

Slowly, the panel opened. Giovanni's eyes glittered savagely. With the on-staff personnel, there were around twenty people in the building. They all would die with him. He heard a voice. Jessie?! She was still inside? He chuckled deeply. Wonderful. "No one can help you this time, Jessica." He growled, entering the self-distruct code. "I'll see you in hell." The lights went out, then bright red warning lights began to flash as a shrill alarm sounded. It could hardly drowned out his insane laughter. 

---

James leaned against the building nervously. She sure was taking a long time. He should probably go check on her. She would hate that, though. She had already started calling him 'dad' after some of the other times he had hinted he was nervous that she was going to get herself killed. He would give her five more minutes. 

Suddenly, a noise caught his ears. Was that an alarm?! Jessie was still in there! He pushed off the wall and ran for the door. "Jessie!" He grabbed the door and threw it open. "Jessie?!" 

An explosion answered him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
_Epilogue: two months later._   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James looked at the clock. It was five, his shift was over. Time sure does fly... "Goodbye, Ma'am." He hung up his apron in the kitchen and headed for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow." 

"Bye bye, hun. Take care now, ya hear?" He nodded and left. She watched him go. James was the best worker she'd ever had, but there was something strange about him. He never spoke unless spoken to, and never smiled. He showed up to work like clockwork, and never asked to be let off early. He did take a lot of sick days, but he always made the time up. She wondered what was wrong... 

James slowly walked home. Viridian City. It was one of the largest cities in the country. Normally, he felt boxed in in large cities. However, he knew he would never leave this city now. He couldn't. 

He passed by the charred gates that led to the old gym, and stopped for a moment. The gym was almost completely gone, only a few steel poles and a wall or two were left. It had been a horrible explosion. He was lucky to survive with the wounds he had. He leaned against the gate, staring. No one seemed to remember the gym's bad reputation, and no one had recognized him as a former member of Team Rocket. Apparently, Mewtwo had erased all those memories when he left. He had a new life, a new start... even if it was just a memory. The wind blew against his face, and for a few seconds, he could swear he could smell her perfume. '_Flirt_'. He smiled. "Hello, Jessie." He pulled a slightly faded rose out of the linked fence, replacing it with a new one. 

A few people had shoved pictures of people who had been killed into the fencing, and he looked over them. Dear friends and acquaintances, people he had known from the bridge gang and old rivals... They were all there. He knew every person on the gate. One by one, he talked to each picture, telling them what he thought they would be interested in. Billy got his football scores, Wyatt heard about a train crash, Becky was told her sister had a baby. 

Finally, he got to the last one, a picture of a young red-head. He smiled bittersweetly. Zee, her sister, had placed it there during the ceremony. Zee had left weeks ago, saying it hurt too much to stay, but James loved it. "Jess..." He cleared his throat. "I still miss you, things haven't changed. Meowth moved out, he said I was too depressing. Zee called last night, she wants me to move down there." He smiled at her. "But don't worry, I told her no. I won't leave you." He glanced both ways to make sure no one was looking, then softly kissed the picture. "I would never leave you." 

The End 

_*In the original comics, James's first line ever was 'Bonjour, Mademoiselle.' After she kicked him. She was mad because he hadn't made breakfast yet. (He had.) Jessie's even meaner in the comics.   
Wahhhh, this one turned out so sad. I'm sorry to end it like that, I really am. I've updated it, so those of you who didn't ruin the end get to read the new one. "Now! With less plot-holes!" ^_^ Lucky Lucky you. _

What did you think? I admit that I went a little overboard on the sentimentalism and violence, but I liked it. Did ya like it? Did ya hate it? Tell [me][2]! Couldn't care less? Review me anyway! I answer every comment I get, guaranteed or your money back. ** What money? ** Shut up. 

   [1]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@Yahoo.com
   [2]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@yahoo.com



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